My Boss The Genius
by Snowflake Flower
Summary: AU. Love, life, and letting go. Apparently, Australian immigrant Temari no Sabaku still has a lot to learn. One-sided ShikaTema. ShikaIno.
1. Part One

**My Boss The Genius**

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**PART ONE**

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The doors slammed open and her boss walked in, looking rather disgruntled in his unbuttoned jacket and loosened tie. A scowl was on his face, growing deeper by the second as he flipped through a manila folder.

"Temari," he called, and she straightened to attention like a soldier. "When's my next appointment?"

She turned to her computer, tapping a few keys. A blink. "Three' o'clock, sir," she replied. He groaned, the scowl set deeply into his face as he jerked the door to his office open.

"Troublesome. Make sure I'm not bothered before then." The door slammed closed, and Temari smiled in amusement. Nara Shikamaru may be a genius and the best lawyer in their firm, but he was lazy as hell. It was something that endeared him to her, knowing that he was such a laid back guy but when the occasion called for it, he would rise to the challenge.

Sighing a little goofily, Temari cushioned her chin on her hands, blushing a bit as she reminisced. Her and her brothers had moved to New York City from the desert of Australia, hoping to forget the past and start a new future. She was fresh out of university and desperate for a job to support her two brothers Kankuro and Gaara, both of whom were still in school. There were no words to say how thankful she was when she got a call from Shikamaru five minutes after her interview, telling her she got the job. And she supposed that was how it all started.

When Temari first started the job, she wondered if the only reason her boss had gotten his high-ranking position was because he had really good connections. But after peeking through his case files and reading his arguments, she found herself suitably impressed. Actually _more_ than impressed! Temari had always been a good debater, which is why she had decided to pursue a career in law. But looking through Shikamaru's reports, she found someone who was way beyond _good_ and landed in genius! For the first time in her life, Temari found herself looking up to someone!

Her newfound respect for her boss transferred into their relationship, and Shikamaru started to ease up around her. He was always lazy and dressed less-than-exemplary (unbuttoned suit jackets and loosened neckties were an everyday thing with him) but his aloof and bored demeanour started to disappear and in its place came a sarcastic, ever-smirking Shikamaru. Before long, the two of them were having conversations that didn't relate to work, and going out for coffee and lunch on their breaks. It wasn't by any means an incredibly close friendship, but it was enough.

It was enough for her to fall in love with him.

Temari hid her giddy smile behind a manila folder she was organizing, eyes darting surreptitiously to her boss' office door, hoping he didn't come out when she looked like an insane smiley icon.

She wasn't sure when it started (when did someone ever know?) but she was positive of her feelings on that day when they had a really important case. He was already at the courthouse, ready with his witness questions and awaiting the start of the trial. It was only too late that he realized his trump card, a transcript of the defendant's phone call with his mistress, was missing. The trial started in ten minutes and it took eight minutes to get to the office from there.

Lucky for him, Temari was at the office and noticed the file sitting innocently on her desk. She did what any self-respecting person would do; she grabbed it and ran.

The run from the office to the courthouse didn't wind her. She used to run track in high school, and booking it from the office to the courthouse was child's play to her. But when Temari handed that manila folder to Shikamaru as he was walking into the courtroom and he _smiled_ at her (like _really, truly_ _smiled_ at her), she felt like she had just run a cross-country marathon carrying a two hundred pound pig. And her heart _fluttered._

(Her heart _never_ fluttered.)

She had done pretty well at hiding her feelings so far, retaining her casual friendship with him and making sure her job as his secretary was top priority. But there were times where she wished that they could be something more than just… what they were. Still, she was incredibly happy that she was the only one able to boast a friendship with Shikamaru the genius lawyer.

Of all the women working at their firm, Temari was the only one who managed to break past Shikamaru's aloof and distant persona. Many of the women have tried, of course. Nara Shikamaru wasn't your traditional Uchiha Sasuke good-looking, but there was something alluring about him nonetheless. There was a quiet confidence in him, a surety to his actions that made him incredibly desirable. And that was how he acted all the time, so Temari often wondered what he'd be like if he was purposely trying to seduce someone.

She shivered at the though, her thighs clenching together.

Despite his popularity with the women, though, the Nara didn't seem interested in any of them; sexually or otherwise. Another secretary at the office, Shikamaru's second secretary actually (because he was just that genius he needed _two_) had spoken to Temari a few days after she realized she had feelings for her boss.

"You don't have a chance," she said, "just give up now." Her tone wasn't pretentious or demeaning, but rather pitying and soft. Temari had stared at her in surprise for a while, until scoffing and simply waving the warning away. The woman was, what, in her forties? Fifties? What did she know? Temari knew for sure that Shikamaru didn't have a wife, a fiancée, or a girlfriend and that he wasn't gay; she had asked him during one of their coffee breaks. So Temari erased the incident from her mind.

Until now at least. She faintly wondered why she recalled it today of all days.

The door to Shikamaru's office opened, and said lawyer walked out, his phone pressed to his ear. That wasn't unusual; Shikamaru was always on his phone with a client, but that wasn't what shocked Temari. It was his expression.

"Oy, seriously, slow down. I can't hear a word you're saying," he spoke into the phone exasperatedly. It was offset by the fond look on his face, like he was remembering a particularly happy moment in his childhood. He turned to her, cupping the speaker on his phone and whispering, "Temari, cancel all my appointments today."

_That_ shocked her even more. A few days ago, Shikamaru was adamant about winning this case and yet now he's telling her to cancel an appointment it took _weeks_ for them to get! Who the hell was he talking to?

There was some unintelligible talking from the person on the other line, and Shikamaru focused on that before Temari could protest. "Well if the news is so exciting, why can't you tell me now?" he asked and then paused, listening to the person speak. He smirked, looking incredibly amused. "You're such a drama queen; troublesome."

A woman? It was a _woman_? No, wait, backtrack Temari-girl. A drama queen can also be used to refer to a guy. Or a gay guy. Shikamaru probably has gay friends. Didn't he tell her about a gay friend once? Sai-something? Yeah, that's probably who it was. It's the Sai-person, Temari, so can you please tell your heart to stop breaking because it's a _guy_—

Shikamaru winced and held his phone away from his ear. There was a lot of screeching on the other end and he mumbled, "Damn that's loud," before pressing it back to his ear again. The screeching had died down to an unintelligible murmur again, and he simply listened to it for a few minutes, crossing his ankles where he stood. She wondered for a moment why he wasn't moving.

"I'm sure the elevator is working at a normal speed," he replied to the other person, mirth lacing his voice. "You're just impatient."

More screeching. He smirked.

"Whatever you say."

Unintelligible murmuring. His eyebrows shot up into his hairline.

"You're going to _what_? You do remember my office is on the thirtieth floor right?"

More murmuring.

"Correction, you _were_ an athlete. That was in high school, and you're twenty-three now. And wearing high heels." He grimaced. "Don't kill yourself, troublesome."

Screeching.

"I'm not saying you're old, for Christ's sake we're the same age!"

Murmuring. He deadpanned.

"I am not an old man."

Cackling.

"Troublesome. Just because I like shogi doesn't mean I'm old."

More cackling.

"Whatever, just get to the point, Ino." (Ino? _Ino? That's a woman's name!_) "What's the big news?"

Murmuring. Shikamaru sighed.

"You are such a drama queen."

The door bursts open and a blonde blur rushes through the door, tackling Shikamaru. It was a petite, platinum haired woman with pale skin and a beautiful face and Temari felt her heart breaking more and more as she watched Shikamaru catch her in his arms, smiling – _smiling_ – down at her.

"I'M DOING HYUUGA HINATA'S WEDDING FLOWERS!" she squealed. Shikamaru rolled his eyes.

"And? Hinata's your friend, of course you're doing her flowers," he said to her. She glared at him, scoffing and muttering something about idiot genius lawyers before launching into a tirade about how lots of high-priority people will be there and she'll get tons of exposure as a wedding florist and this was _practically_ a promotion for her and why the damn hell can't he be as excited and happy and—

Temari couldn't really pay attention to the blonde's incessant rambling, still reeling from the shock of Shikamaru's behaviour in the past five minutes he was talking to this… this _Ino_ person. He displayed more emotion in those last few minutes he was on the phone than all the months she worked for him. Who was this girl? And what was she to Nara Shikamaru?

"Are you listening, Shikamaru?" the woman, Ino, asked with a warning tone. Shikamaru just smirked lazily at her.

"Yes, yes," he replied and she smacked his shoulder.

"One 'yes' is enough!" she reprimanded. "And why is your tie so loose? You're at _work_ Shikamaru! And a _lawyer_! You should be dressed respectably!" Her rant continued on as she reached for his shirt, but he grabbed her wrist and chuckled.

"So got any ideas for Hinata and Naruto's flowers?" he asked in order to deter her. She knew what he was doing, glaring at him for daring to change the subject but latching onto it anyways. As she babbled on, Shikamaru steered her into his office but then suddenly remembered something and turned to Temari. "Hey, you mind getting us some coffee?" he asked. Ino poked her head out of the door of his office, her eyes bright.

"Oh! Can I get a decaf double mocha vanilla frappucino with a sprinkling of dark chocolate?" Shikamaru looked at her with a disgusted scowl on his lips.

"Decaf? This better not be one of your stupid dieting schemes again," he said almost warningly; almost worriedly. But Ino just made a silly face at him.

"Shut up you bitter old man! I mean really, who takes their coffee _black_? You need to sweeten it up with something—" she replied, ducking back into his office. Shikamaru looked at her fondly, chuckling and entering his office, shutting the door. It closed with a quiet click, yet Temari still heard it over the shattering of her heart.


	2. Interlude

**My Boss The Genius**

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**INTERLUDE**

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Her life sucked.

A bell jangled above her head as she pushed the door to the café open, stepping in to a heated blast of roasting coffee beans. It was a luscious smell, one that Temari often looked forward to, speaking of simpler days and quiet lunch breaks. Now it was just grating on her nerves as she took her place in line, trying to recall _Ino's_ order.

Ino. That was the name of the cheerful little blonde woman that had just crashed into the office only minutes earlier and in doing so, had crushed all of Temari's hopes and dreams.

'_Ino…_' She slammed a ten-dollar bill on the table and said curtly, "A decaf double mocha vanilla frappucino with a sprinkling of dark chocolate," she growled. "And a black coffee." She paused. "Make that two." At this point, coffee was the only thing that would make anything feel better.

The waitress behind the counter picked up the bill and shuffled nervously. "Um, ma'am? This isn't enough," she said meekly. Temari blinked and sighed, remembering she had only grabbed enough money for the two orders and that her order was spontaneous. Normally she'd just shuck over another bill, but Temari had left her purse at her desk in her haste to leave the oppressing silence of the office.

"Okay, never mind then. Just the frappucino and one black coffee—"

"Here."

Temari looked up, surprised when someone plopped a ten down in front of the waitress. "Give the lady her second black coffee; oh and just a normal one for me." The man leaned on the wooden counter, shooting Temari a roguish grin. The waitress quickly shuffled off to complete the order, leaving the blonde and her saviour to stare at each other.

"You didn't have to do that," Temari told him, "but thank you." Normally she would've glared at anyone who was pretentious enough to pay for something she ordered, given she had an independent streak a mile wide. But she was tired and miserable and just a little bit desperate, so she decided that maybe, just this once, she could let it go.

The man shrugged. "Eh, you look like you could really use it," he chuckled before quickly backtracking. "I mean, not that I'm implying you look horrible or something, just that you look like your dog died and you just found out and aw shit, that's not what really happened is it?" He was sweating, looking rather sheepish and worried and hoping he didn't just bring up some bad memories. Temari couldn't help it; she laughed.

"No," she snickered (because she didn't _giggle_), "no, I just… I'm having a bit of a bad day. Well, I was." She looked up at him and smiled a bit. "Thanks."

He grinned roguishly. "No problem."

The waitress came back with her order and right after she grabbed it there was a flurry of people that suddenly swept into the coffee shop, separating her and the man she was talking to. When Temari finally managed to get out of the crowd and back on the sidewalk, he was nowhere to be seen.

Heart heavy again, Temari trudged back across the street to deliver the steaming hot coffees to her boss the genius and his love interest the wedding florist.

Yep. Her life sucked.


	3. Part Two

**My Boss The Genius**

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**PART TWO**

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It was raining. She hated rain.

The weather forecast that morning had mentioned something about an approaching storm, but Temari had not paid it any mind as she rushed off for work. Big mistake.

It was pouring in a combination of buckets and cats and dogs, the rain splattering so forcefully on the ground that they rebounded up and fell back down. Spending even a second in that downpour was enough to soak her completely from head to toe, and wasn't it just wonderful that there were no cabs around? It had something to do with the roads being too slippery and dangerous for travel. Psh.

Grimacing, she wondered faintly what she was going to do, standing in the courthouse and looking gloomily out into the rain. Her boss, the genius lawyer Shikamaru, came up beside her at the window, scowling at the rain. "How troublesome," he muttered, and she agreed silently in her head. Troublesome indeed.

She fished out her phone. "I'm going to see if I can call a cab," she said, mostly to herself. Shikamaru stopped her, placing his hand on her dialling fingers. She looked up, surprised, at him.

"Don't bother," he told her. Her lips pursed, but she let her hands fall and stuffed her phone back in her jacket pocket. She knew he was right, that it was useless to try to call a cab in this weather, but had somehow wanted to try it anyways. I mean, what else was she supposed to do? _Walk_ home in this weather? Temari sighed, and Shikamaru looked at her with his drowsy eyes. "You can stay at my place tonight."

Her head shot up, eyes wide. "What?" she asked. Shikamaru's face turned back to the window, watching the rain splatter against the glass. He was handsomely nonchalant, hands stuffed in his pocket, shirt collar unbuttoned, tie loose.

"I said you can stay at my place tonight. Its pretty close," naturally, considering he'd probably be too lazy to walk or drive a long distance to work, "and I don't want you to catch a cold. That would be really troublesome." Temari was surprised at his concern, but mostly touched and feeling rather like she had a chance against this Ino person. Slowly, surely, she was worming her way into his heart and maybe if she worked hard enough she could take it away.

Maybe.

"Sure," Temari answered, trying to sound nonchalant and casual like he did instead of giggly (she did _not_ giggle) and happy like she felt. Shikamaru glanced at her from the corner of his eye, gesturing with his head to the door. She picked up her work purse and followed him out the door, into the rain. Temari would follow him anywhere, she thought; even into a monsoon. The only question was, would he follow her into one too?

She tried not to think on it, wincing from the cold droplets of rain hitting her blazer. Shikamaru appeared unaffected, strolling through the rain as if he was strolling through a sunny day. His strange pineapple-shaped ponytail was now wet from the rain and drooped backwards, looking more like a normal ponytail. Temari's own hair was plastered wetly against her face, no longer sticking up like they were prone to doing when they were dry.

She stepped into another puddle and made a disgusted face, feeling the rainwater in between her toes. Although moving to New York had been a brilliant idea for her and her brothers, Temari had to admit that the weather changes were a major turn off. Back in Australia, it was mostly dry and sunny and hot and so the difference was rather new to her and she was still trying to get used to it.

"We're here," she heard Shikamaru call over his shoulder, and she rushed to catch up to him. He was standing at the foot of a large apartment building that looked very contemporary, the outside made completely of mirrors. They stepped inside, a doorman bowing to them as they stepped past the automated sliding glass doors. The place was expensive enough that they had their own personal _doorman_. Temari supposed that was to be expected though; he made a lot of money as a lawyer.

They made their way to the elevator, where there was also a liftman – a man in the elevator who operated the buttons. He took one look at Shikamaru, smiled, tipped his hat, and said, "Good evening Mr. Nara." Shikamaru just grunted and leaned against the back of the elevator wall. Temari stepped in unsurely behind him, nodding her head to the liftman. He tipped his hat to her as well and pushed the button presumably for Shikamaru's floor… or maybe just the button for his suite. Temari wasn't sure because she'd never been in Shikamaru's apartment.

And that was when it struck her. She was going to Shikamaru's apartment. She was staying overnight in his apartment. She was going to be _alone with the love of her life in his apartment_.

If Temari was a lesser woman, she'd faint. As it was, she did not. The only thing that even hinted of her new revelation was the slight twitch of her pinky as it clutched the handle of her tote bag. The men in the elevator certainly didn't notice the small movement, and if they did they would never know what was behind it. So Temari counted her stars lucky when the elevator dinged and she trailed behind Shikamaru as he ambled into a small enclosed space.

There wasn't a hallway, although for all intents and purposes Temari figured that this _was_ the hallway. The door in front of her was Shikamaru's, no doubt as he fished a key out of his pocket and stuck it into the keyhole. Oh yeah, her boss didn't just live in an apartment, he lived in a _penthouse_. (She sure knew how to pick her men, huh?)

The door unlocked with a click and he opened it, heading inside. She followed after him, her heart hammering in her chest. This was it. This was it! If she couldn't seduce him now, over the course of the next few hours, than he was undeniably lost to her. But Temari was nothing if not determined; so what if this could cause irrevocable amounts of awkwardness between the two of them? She'd never know if she never took a chance. And Sabaku no Temari had once chosen between staying in safe, familiar Australia and the concrete jungle that was New York City. Look where that led her.

This whole 'playing it safe' thing was never her style anyways. She was always a person who knew what she wanted, and went out and got it. And she wanted Nara Shikamaru.

"I'm home!" Shikamaru called out into his penthouse, and Temari wondered if that was a habit for him. But then she stepped out from behind him, and saw just who he was saying 'I'm home' to.

His penthouse was open-spaced, the kitchen, living room, and dining room blended together in one large, open, airy room. It was because of this that Temari saw Shikamaru's large, flat-screen TV and the comfy couch across from it, housing two individuals. The one of the right was brown-haired, rather large with broad shoulders. Temari figured he probably played football in high school, with his size. Beside him was a smaller, yet more familiar person.

'_Ino._'

"Took you long enough!" she reprimanded, only to hone in on Temari standing beside Shikamaru. Her blue eyes quickly took in their current state; soaked blazers and shivering body parts. "Oh! You're all wet!" No shit Sherlock, Temari grumbled in her head, but couldn't find herself able to really hate the paler blonde when she rushed forward, clucking her tongue like a mother hen. She turned to Shikamaru, glaring. "Why didn't you offer her your coat?"

Shikamaru shrugged. "It was wet. Seems a bit counter-productive to offer her a wet coat when I want to keep her dry," he replied. She smacked him in the shoulder, scowling.

"It's the gentlemanly thing to do!" she told him. "God, Shikamaru!" Ino then turned to Temari, her face morphing from its angry state to one of lots of smiles and bright, cheery happiness. "I'm so sorry about him; he wouldn't know where his own arm was if I didn't keep hitting it all the time." Shikamaru was the one to scowl this time, but Ino ignored it and led Temari further into the apartment. "Here, let me show you to the guest room. It has a bathroom that you can use to shower."

Temari was led down a short hallway and to a door that Ino opened, displaying a rather neat and stylish room. It was definitely Ino's doing, as Temari could tell from the beautiful flower arrangements scattered throughout the room. The washroom was off on the left, which Ino pointed out.

"There are shampoo and conditioner bottles under the sink, and towels in the linen closet. I'll bring some dry clothes for you to wear," Ino told her, smiling kindly. Temari muttered her thanks, still unsure how to act around the other blonde. But Ino seemed oblivious to it, beaming at the other woman and sweeping out of the room, probably to look for said dry clothes she promised. She closed the door behind her, and Temari suddenly found herself in a very quiet room with her thoughts.

Cringing at the wet clothing sticking to her skin, Temari began to ease the hair bands out of her hair, heading into the washroom and closing the door. She wondered what Ino and that other man were doing here, in Shikamaru's apartment on a Friday night. Maybe they had a weekly ritual? A lot of girls in Temari's high school had movie nights or sleepovers and she supposed maybe this was a variation of that. Ino certainly seemed comfortable in Shikamaru's house, finding the guest room with ease and pointing out key items in the washroom without even being in it.

Temari stepped into the shower and sighed, the hot water relaxing her muscles and giving warmth to her chilled skin. She also wondered who the other man was, the one sitting beside Ino when they walked in. Maybe another childhood friend? Could he and Ino be together, and that was why Shikamaru wasn't acting on his feelings for Ino? Because he didn't want to cause strain in their friendship? If that was so, then Temari thought she definitely had a chance with him. He was probably hurting and looking for someone to help ease the pain. She hoped so.

Temari paused in shampooing her hair, grimacing. Was this what she had been reduced to? Wishing that Shikamaru would feel miserable just so she could be with him? Have a chance with him? Part of her thought it was despicable. She was an attractive woman; she should be able to make Shikamau fall in love with her without trickery or deceit! But then again, love wasn't just about attraction. It was something undeniable and unexplainable. Something illogical that was based purely on feeling, purely on emotion. And anyways, if a man loved someone it wouldn't matter to him how attractive she was, because his love for her was going to make her look beautiful to him anyways.

She sighed and turned the water off, stepping out of the shower stall into the shivering air. The mirror was fogged from steam and she wiped it clear with her towel. For a moment, Temari stared at her reflection, at the wet clumps of her golden blonde hair and the teal-blue shade of her eyes. For a moment, she wondered if she was beautiful; she wondered if Shikamaru thought she was beautiful.

Shaking her head to stop those thoughts, Temari wrapped a towel around herself and stepped into the guest room. A pair of neatly folded sweatpants and a t-shirt were placed on the bed, no doubt put there by Ino. She put them on, clinging to the clothes when she discovered they held the lingering scent of Shikamaru's cologne. Temari figured Ino's clothes wouldn't fit her; the other blonde was thinner and shorter than she was.

Taking comfort in the knowledge that she was wearing something out of Shikamaru's closet, Temari quietly opened the door, ready to join the others in the living room. She could hear Ino's loud voice from her spot in the hallway. It got steadily louder as she got steadily closer and it wasn't long before Temari could make out Ino's words.

"Chouji, don't touch that hot chocolate! That's for Temari," she heard Ino yell.

"But I'm thirsty," the man, Chouji, said.

"I already made you hot chocolate! Don't complain just because you finished yours," she replied.

"Have mine," Shikamaru said, and Temari hid around the corner, peeking into the living room where she saw her boss slide his mug across the table to his friend. Ino, a shock of pale blonde and sky blue, whirled on the genius lawyer with a glare of death on her face.

"Don't spoil him!" she said, only for Shikamaru to shrug at her. He was fresh out of the shower from what Temari could tell, dressed in a similar pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt as her. A towel was slung around his neck and his hair was wet, water droplets falling from the tips of his loose black hair. Temari thought that he looked breathtaking like that, slumped against the couch, relaxed and content.

Apparently Ino thought otherwise. She scowled at the little drips of water landing on her arm. "Why is your hair wet?" she asked, turning to him. "You know you'll get sick if you don't dry it." Shikamaru simply shrugged and yawned. Ino's eye twitched. "You're such a lazy bum!" she shrieked, grabbing the towel around his neck. Ino climbed up the sofa, sitting behind Shikamaru, her legs on either side of his arms. She didn't see the triumphant smirk that appeared on his lips as she began towel-drying his hair, grumbling under her breath. She didn't see Temari either, hiding behind the corner. But Chouji did.

"Would you like to join us?" he asked, and she jumped. A flush settled over her cheeks, and she stepped into view.

"Yes, thank you," she said, trying to regain her bearings. Ino brightened when she appeared, but did not stop towel-drying Shikamaru's hair, or move from her spot behind him.

"I made you some hot chocolate!" she said cheerily, and Temari smiled a little unsurely at her, easing into the armchair beside the couch. The mug was still hot to the touch, but she didn't mind as she sipped a little bit. The TV was muted, but turned on and switched to the weather channel. Shikamaru un-mute it and the drone of the weatherman fluttered through the room.

"… the storm's looking to last the weekend, so it wouldn't be a good idea to go out partying Saturday—"

"Oh phooey," Ino huffed. "Hina-chan and I were going to go to the flower store and pick out her bouquet." Shikamaru chuckled and reached up to pinch her leg. She yelped.

"Just call her tomorrow or something. You have the internet and a phone. Google all the flowers," he said. Ino brightened at the idea, hugging Shikamaru's neck, seemingly oblivious to the fact she was choking him.

"That's brilliant, Shikamaru!" she squealed. "No wonder you're a genius." He rolled his eyes and she grinned excitedly, hopping off the couch. "I'll be right back; gotta call Hina-chan." She disappeared from the room into the kitchen, presumably to use the phone in privacy. Temari tried not to fidget nervously when she was left in the room with her boss and his best friend. Neither seemed to feel awkward, though, Shikamaru lounging on the couch and Chouji licking his lips.

"You gonna drink that?" he asked, pointing to her mug of hot chocolate. Temari blinked, a bit surprised, but shook her head. He smiled at her in thanks and took the mug. Ino bounced into the room a second later, a determined glaze to her eyes. She didn't even notice how Chouji acquired his new cup of hot cocoa.

"We need to make sleeping arrangements!" she declared resolutely. Shikamaru peered lazily at her through his dark lashes.

"Okay…" he muttered, which turned into a signal for Ino to go on a tangent.

"Temari can take the guest bedroom, because duh, she's the guest, and I'll take Shikamaru's room and Shikamaru and Chouji can sleep in the living room," she said. Shikamaru sat up straighter, narrowing his eyes.

"Why do I have to give up my room?" he complained. Ino shot him her patented Flowery Death Glare of Doom; that is, a facial expression that was meant to look sweet and innocent but was actually quite menacing.

"Because I'm a girl," she said, "and you're a guy. And guys are gentlemen's to girls. And although I know you're the most ungentlemanly lazy bum on the planet, I'm going to convert you into one if it kills me. So I get your bed and you sleep on the couch."

"But the couch is mine," Chouji whined. Ino shot him a smile, a genuinely sweet one.

"Of course, Chouji, never mind." She turned back to Shikamaru with her Flowery Death Glare of Doom. "Chouji gets the couch and you sleep on the floor."

He scowled. Ino smiled. Chouji sipped his hot chocolate. Temari wondered why she was still here. She looked out the window.

It was raining. She hated rain.


	4. Interlude Two

**My Boss The Genius**

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**INTERLUDE TWO**

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The bed was too comfortable.

Temari scowled in the dark, her eyes trained on what she knew was the ceiling even though she couldn't see anything. The blankets brushed tantalizingly against her skin and she wondered vaguely how many thread counts were on it. The pillow was under scrutiny too, because it felt illegally fluffy. Like, so fluffy it should have been illegal for it to be that fluffy and, and… _nice_. And the bed was too comfortable. Did she mention that already?

Temari frowned and shifted on her side. Why was the guest bed so comfy? She usually thought that guest beds were just the cheapest beds that could be bought; tolerable for a person to sleep on for a few nights but definitely not daily-used material. Then again, wasn't this originally Ino's room? How often did she sleep over anyways, for her to get an illegally comfortable bed?

Temari liked to think it was just because Shikamaru spent money on trivial things because he didn't know what else to spend it on (besides a girlfriend, _which he didn't have_). Deep in her heart, though, Temari knew it was because it was _Ino_ slept over a lot, if these weekly Friday rituals were any indication. But she was going to be in denial as long as she possibly could.

Growing frustrated, Temari slipped out of the sinfully comfortable bed, hoping maybe a warm glass of milk would help her fall asleep. She closed the guest room door quietly, hoping she wouldn't wake anyone up as she crept down the dark hallway. Chouji and Shikamaru were sleeping in the living room and she would have to pass by them to get to the kitchen.

Temari heard shuffling around the corner and her heart sped up, tingling in alertness. Quickly, she ducked behind the end table with the large vase of flowers on it, effectively hiding herself among its shadows. She peeked through the leaves of the flowers, seeing a shadowy figure ambling down the hallway, headed for the room where Ino slept. The figure was too lanky to be Chouji, and yet somehow Temari still hoped that it wasn't Shikamaru as much as she knew it was.

The figure opened the master bedroom door silently, slipping inside. Temari, her heart beating loudly in her ears, took a risk and slipped around the vase and end table, creeping towards the sliver in the open door that the figure had left. She settled in a crouch beside it, listening to the sound of rustling sheets and a whispered, "Move over, Ino."

"Shikamaru?" Ino's voice murmured sleepily, and Temari tried not to pay attention to her heart squeezing painfully, or the quiver in her bottom lip. There was a pause in Ino's voice as the sheets rustled some more. "You do know that if I was more awake I'd slap you," she said drowsily. Shikamaru chuckled, a husky sound that sent Temari's sensual nerves thrumming excitedly beneath her skin.

"Shut up, you troublesome woman, and go to sleep," Shikamaru told her.

"Not troub'some," she mumbled in reply, "an' I'mma slap y't'm'rrow for sayin' so."

Shikamaru chuckled once more, and the sheets rustled one last time before everything fell silent. Temari stayed crouched beside the door, not moving for a long minute until her knees protested from the abuse and her muscles quivered with the need to move. She rose into a half-crouch, forgoing the warm milk and heading straight back for the guest bedroom. She settled into the bed, hugging the pillow to her chest and blinking back that burning feeling behind her eyes.

The bed was still too comfortable.


	5. Part Three

**My Boss The Genius**

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**PART THREE**

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Morning approached quickly, and Temari could see it in the blinking red lights of the alarm clock on the night table. She could hear the rain pattering against the window, the sun shielded by the gloomy clouds outside. It was customary for her to wake up around this time, but she pulled the blanket over her head to see if she could get in a few more hours of shut-eye. Alas, it was not meant to be; sleep evaded her, and she could feel it as wakefulness took over.

Yawning and deciding that she might as well get up, Temari rolled over and slipped out of the queen-sized bed. She took a moment to grumble at the revelation that the illegally comfortable bed was _queen-sized_ (seriously, how much did he spend on this thing?) before slipping into the washroom to freshen up. It was a little bright with colour and flowers and sweet-smelling hand soap and Temari thought that Ino probably frequented the washroom a lot too. It was only logical, since she seemed to use the guest bed a lot and there were many feminine shampoo and conditioner bottles littering the shower. That woman smelled like a flower shop every time Temari passed by her.

Walking back out when she was finished her daily morning bathroom ritual, Temari looked around the room wondering if there was something for her to change into. A robe, at least? Her clothes had disappeared, presumably to the washer and dryer courtesy of one wedding florist, and there weren't any other garments in sight so Temari gave up and kept Shikamaru's clothes on when she headed to the kitchen.

It was rather early, for Shikamaru anyways, and Temari didn't expect to see someone already in the kitchen when she got there. Looking unfairly pretty in her lilac capris and tank top set, Ino leaned against the counter with her hair unbound and falling softly past her shoulders. She was like a glow of sun against the rainy backdrop of the window right over the sink. The blonde was sipping a colourful Alice in Wonderland mug, most likely filled with coffee. She turned in surprise at Temari's approach, but then smiled widely.

"Good morning!" she chirped, displaying her pearly whites. Temari smiled a little hesitantly.

"Good morning," she replied, unsure of what to do as she stood in the doorway of the kitchen uncertainly. Ino jerked her head to the coffee machine.

"Help yourself," she told the darker blonde. Temari nodded in thanks, hesitating when she didn't know where the cups were. Ino opened the cabinet just beside her head, displaying rows upon rows of themed mugs. Most just had words on them, but there were a few oddities like Ino's Alice mug. Temari decided to play it safe and go for the plain white mug at the back of the cabinet. She poured coffee into her mug and then drank it straight. Ino made a face.

"Not you too," she groaned, nursing her cream-and-sugar blended coffee. Temari grinned as she gulped down her coffee, feeling the caffeine kicking in and sharpening her senses. It was strange that she felt amused at all, always imagining that in a situation like this, alone in a room with no one but Ino, that it would be the infinitely, most awkward thing she'd ever experience. She saw Shikamaru sneak into Ino's bed (err, well _his_ bed that she stole) just last night. Her gut should be stretching three different ways right now in an attempt to cover her misery, anger, and jealousy. Instead, she was grinning like an idiot in the face of Ino's cheerily bright utter-morning-person smile.

Damn her.

"It's kind of nice," Ino commented, catching Temari's attention. She was smiling serenely, her long nails clinking against the porcelain mug. "Sharing coffee with someone in the early morning, I mean. Shikamaru and Chouji are late sleepers so by the time they get up, I'm already finished eating breakfast." She grinned when she mentioned her two friends, taking a sip of coffee. Temari looked down at her own mug, pondering why the act of sharing coffee with someone was so… unusual and yet so wonderful. In the Sabaku household, everyone was always in a rushed pace, darting around looking for things and only focused on getting out the door to be on time for school or work. The three of them were never very social and really only had each other to talk to after a long day. They were siblings too, which was never a bonus because they tend to argue a lot (well, maybe just her and Kankuro; Gaara was the quiet one).

Thinking on it now, Temari felt a little sad. Didn't they come to America to start over? Before getting on that one-way plane ride, she had promised herself that she would make friends in New York City. She promised herself that the Sabaku Sibs were going to be social if she had to wring their necks to a party with her own two hands. And yet, they were still operating as they always had in Australia, like the only things that mattered was each other. Like everyone else in the world was on a separate plane of existence, not necessarily beneath them or above them, but just unreachable. And somehow, that thought made Temari a little more sad.

"Temari?"

Ino's voice cut through her thoughts, and she looked up. The paler blonde was looking at her a little concernedly. "Are you alright?" she asked. Temari blinked once, to get her bearings, and then nodded.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she told Ino. "I just… what you said about sharing coffee in the mornings… I think it's nice too." Here, Temari smiled tentatively at the other woman. It was small and hesitant, her way of reaching out to someone, of making herself vulnerable to a person who had the option of accepting her or rejecting her. She wasn't even sure why she did it; reach out to Ino, she means. Wasn't this supposed to be her rival? Her enemy? The obstacle in the way of a mutual exchange of feelings between her and Shikamaru?

And yet, when Temari looked into Ino's eyes, seeing the sincere concern swirling in their sky blue depths, she thought that maybe she could trust this girl with her heart. She could trust that Ino would not stomp on it, would not step on it, would not tear out a piece of it and throw it into the ocean. Because that was always what she was afraid of, letting someone in and then watching as they left, leaving a chipped, cracked _her_ in their wake. Shikamaru had already succeeded in doing that, although maybe on a smaller scale.

Ino smiled brilliantly, and Temari knew somehow that the younger girl had just opened the door and taken her first step inside the older woman's heart. "So are you going to spend the day here or is there something you need to do?" Ino asked, placing her mug in the sink. "The boys and I will just be hanging around, ordering take-out, watching movies; our usual Saturdays." Temari eyed the rain splattering against the window above the sink and felt another smile trying to cross her face.

"It looks pretty bad out there," Temari said, "so I think I'll hang around for awhile." Ino grinned, clapping her hands gleefully.

"Great!" she chirped. "You can help me make breakfast then!"

And they were off, clattering pots and pans, frying eggs and bacon, toasting bread, spreading out plates and forks and napkins on the little breakfast nook. Cooking breakfast was surprisingly fun with Ino, who liked to chatter on about absolutely nothing and talk to inanimate objects and the food that she was making. Backgrounds were exchanged, stories were passed around and by the time Temari set the last utensil just perfectly so, the two blondes already felt like old friends.

"Food!" Chouji exclaimed happily as he trumped into the room, his mouth watering. He sat down, reaching for a slice of bacon when Ino slapped his wrist with a spatula.

"Not until Shikamaru gets here!" she hissed. The larger man pouted, deflating.

"But it's Shikamaru! He'll sleep right through breakfast," Chouji said. Ino hmphed, putting her hands on her hips. She looked like quite the domestic wife posing like that, an apron tied around her and a spatula sticking out of her closed fist.

"Not if I can help it," she said. She turned to Temari. "Guard the food; make sure Chouji doesn't sneak any bites," she ordered almost like a drill sergeant before marching out of the kitchen. There was an ache in Temari's chest when she realized Ino would be heading for the bedroom, where Shikamaru had snuck in last night because he didn't want to sleep on the floor… or didn't want to sleep without Ino. She tried not to think on it though, taking the seat beside Chouji. They two of them waited in silence, Chouji chuckling when Ino's screeching was audible from the other side of the apartment. It wasn't long before Ino and Shikamaru emerged from the hallway, headed for the kitchen.

"You didn't have to hit me," Shikamaru scowled, rubbing his head. Ino just turned her nose up at him and he slipped into the seat across from his secretary. Temari looked down at her empty plate, unable to meet his eyes because of some obscure reason even she couldn't figure out. Ino filled two cups with coffee, placing them on the table in front of Chouji and Shikamaru. "Thanks," he mumbled, drinking it straight. Chouji added some milk and sugar to his, 'like a normal person', Ino would say.

"Can I eat now?" Chouji asked, looking hungrily at the food laid out in front of him. Ino had barely answered, "yes," before he attacked the food, clearing most of the serving plates by half. Temari was surprised at his speed when she compared it with his size, but Shikamaru just sat back nonchalantly and Ino immediately began her lecture, reprimanding him for hogging everything. He listened to her with half an ear, not reaching for anymore food but not slowing his chewing.

"Honestly," she huffed, tearing out a piece of her toast ferociously, "you're going to choke on something eating that fast." Temari smiled as she drank her coffee, opting not to mention that a person could also choke while eating and talking.

"Lighten up, Ino," Shikamaru drawled, smirking. "At least Chouji has a healthy appetite." Ino scowled at the lawyer, making a show of opening her mouth and stuffing an entire piece of bacon into it. Shikamaru chuckled and took another gulp of his coffee, making no move of touching any food. Ino chewed thoughtfully as she glared at him, waiting for him to grab at least some toast. When he didn't seem like he was going to feed himself anytime soon, she growled like a concerned and frustrated mama bear. The sound made Temari look up, surprised. Chouji simply grinned under his toast.

"Aren't you going to eat something?" she asked, raising a perfectly plucked brow. Shikamaru took another sip of his black, bitter coffee.

"Too troublesome," he said. A tic developed under Ino's eye.

"Eat. Something," she ground out. Shikamaru looked at her, his eyes drooping in what Temari guessed was either boredom or sleepiness. A breath of air puffed through his lips, the Shikamaru equivalent of a heavy sigh, and he reached for some of the soft, slippery eggs. Probably the least troublesome to eat, Temari mused as she stamped down the urge to laugh.

To mock her, Shikamaru made a minor show of putting the eggs in his mouth. Undeterred, Ino grabbed three slices of bacon (slapping Chouji's wrists to stop him from taking them) and dropped them on his plate. She transferred her second piece of buttered toast from her plate to his, raising her eyebrow again at him. He smirked.

"Alright, alright," he mumbled, reaching for his fork.

"One 'alright' is enough," she told him, before slapping Chouji's wrist again. He had been reaching for the butter. "No more butter! You'll clog your arteries by the end of the day at the rate you're going." The bigger man pouted.

"But Ino, I'm hungry," he whined, looking forlornly at the rest of the bacon. Her eyes narrowed warningly.

"No," she said firmly, scooping the plate of bacon into her hand and out of his reach. "Absolutely not." Chouji reached for the plate anyways, stretching across the table and upsetting its stability.

"C'mon, please?" he asked, and Ino shrieked as her coffee spilled onto her eggs.

"Chouji, stop it!" But he didn't, trying to edge his way around the table and grab the plate. Shikamaru sat back in his chair, lazily sipping his coffee like nothing was happening while Temari tried to wrap her head around the chaotic scene in front of her. Ino had gotten so fed up with Chouji's persistence that she finally grabbed the rest of the bacon and stuffed it all in her mouth.

"Nooo!" Chouji sniffled, watching her chew the bacon ferociously, a triumphant gleam in her eyes. It was then that the phone rang, and Ino quickly swallowed the bacon in her mouth. She flounced into the kitchen to grab the wireless phone, leaving Chouji to take his seat again poke at his food. Temari tried not to reach over and pat him comfortingly on the shoulder, as it wasn't much in her personality to comfort people over trivial things. Shikamaru did it for her, though, handing his best friend his two slices of bacon. The larger man perked up quite quickly after that.

"Oh, hi Hina-chan!" Ino chirped into the phone, sauntering past the breakfast nook. "I was going to call you after I ate, but you beat me to it." She stopped on her way to the hallway, turning. "Shikamaru, Chouji!" she barked, "you're on clean-up!" The two of them groaned simultaneously but shuffled to work at the sharp daggers that constituted as Ino's glare (different, of course, from the Flowery Death Glare of Doom).

Temari stood up, hiding her smug grin as she left the two boys (men?) to their chores (she always did cooking and clean up at home, so this was a nice change of pace). She headed for the hallway as well, figuring her brothers were probably worried sick that she hadn't called them yet. They would never admit it though; the Sabaku Sibs were as stubborn as they were anti-social.

As she passed into the hallway and started to enter the guest room, the Australian saw Ino poke her head out of the master suite.

"Shikamaru!" she shouted into the main room, her back to Temari, "I'm using your shower!"

Temari waited to hear her boss' reply. She wished she hadn't.

"Don't you always? !"


	6. Interlude Three

**My Boss The Genius**

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**INTERLUDE THREE**

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She had just stepped into the guest room when she realized her purse was hanging on a hook beside the front door. Sighing at her idiocy, Temari turned around to head back to the main room and fetch her bag. However, when Shikamaru darted around the corner, she panicked and hid behind the door, peeking through the open sliver. Somewhere in the back of Temari's mind, she noticed this whole spying thing was starting to become the norm.

"Ino!" Shikamaru called, his voice raised a tone louder, eyes narrowed as he swept into his room. "Don't touch my razor! Replacing it is troublesome as hell."

"Aw, but Shika," Ino whined, "Yours cuts so much smoother than mine!"

"Then get one for yourself," he told her, Temari inching closer to his open door to hear the better. She could still hear the shower running.

"I did," Ino replied, "but it's at home and I'm here so I have to use yours." The inflection in her tone was matter-of-fact, like he should have known that and she shouldn't have had to explain it to him because wasn't he a genius?

"Do you really _have_ to?" he grouched. Ino sniffed indignantly.

"Yes, I do," she replied, "my legs feel like porcupines."

There was a pause, and then, "They felt fine last night."

Temari winced, her hand reaching up to clutch at her chest. She wondered why she bothered listening at all if it was only going to hurt. But there was a part of her that just needed to know. Whether that part was interested in the exact depth of Shikamaru's love for Ino or interested in the percent of the chance that he could love her instead, Temari didn't know. What she did know was that doing this, spying on them, was addictive. It was almost necessary.

Tuning out the beginning of Ino's rant that 'of course he thought they felt fine because his legs were so damn hairy like an ape and what was he, a neandrathal? Shave your damn legs!' Temari headed purposefully back into the main room, where Chouji looked up from surfing the net on a laptop.

"Did you call your brothers?" he asked her, all nice and polite-like (he really was very nice). Temari shook her head, grabbing her purse and shrugging almost sheepishly (almost, because Temari no Sabaku didn't do _sheepish_).

"Left my phone in my bag," she told him a bit curtly, regretting the slight edge to her voice when she answered him. It was unfair of her to let her frustration seep onto Chouji, who really didn't have anything to do with her breaking heart. He seemed fine, though, not taking any offense to her curtness. She figured he had a lot of practice dealing with that because of Ino.

Shikamaru walked out of the hallway, scowling with his shirt splashed with water droplets and his hair dripping a bit. Chouji grinned at his friend's appearance.

"She throw water at you?" he asked, but the question was more of a statement.

"It's _my _damn razor," Shikamaru growled, shuffling into the kitchen. Temari watched Chouji follow him, the sink soapy and full with water, ready to tackle the greasy plates. Temari left them to it, hugging her bag to her chest and walking back to the guest room, where she closed the door and sank against it, gripping her bag with white knuckles.

"Home, home, home, home, home," she chanted, gripping her cell with white knuckles and imagining her old home in the Australian desert.

No. That wasn't home anymore.

Two faces flashed, one with red hair, the other with brown.

_That_ was home.

She flipped the cell phone open.


	7. Part Four

**My Boss The Genius**

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**PART FOUR**

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Her cell was dead.

"Damn it," Temari cursed, throwing her black-screened phone onto the bed. That thing ran out of battery way too fast, which was probably an indication that she needed a new phone. Not that acknowledging that helped her now, because she still needed to find a way to talk to her brothers. She didn't want to think about the mess they've made in the apartment by now without her there to clean stuff up.

The shower was audible through the walls in the hallway as Temari headed towards the living room. She figured Shikamaru wouldn't mind if she used his phone, and Ino was showering so she couldn't complain (not that Temari thought she would).

Shikamaru and Chouji were washing the dishes when she entered the main room, the latter washing and the former drying. Neither of them looked up when they heard her walking closer, but Shikamaru knew she was there. Sneaking up on him was harder than getting him to do something 'troublesome', a trait probably stemming from his few years in the police force.

"I need to use your phone," Temari told him. Shikamaru grunted his acquiescence, as she knew he would (words would be too troublesome) and snatched up the cordless phone. She dialled her apartment number, happy that she memorized the number for situations just like this. The phone rang for a beat or two, before there was a clicking sound and Kankuro's voice filtered from the other end.

"What?" he practically snarled into the phone. Temari frowned.

"That's not a very nice way to answer the phone," she told him. "If I wasn't so worried about the sanctity of my room, I'd hang up right now."

There was a pause. "Temari?" he asked. She rolled her eyes.

"Yes, doofus. It's me," she said.

"Where the hell have you been?" he asked her, a tint of a growl lining his voice. "I'm starving over here." Temari's eye twitched as she flopped onto the armchair, crossing her legs.

"There are leftovers in the fridge," she reminded him pointedly. He snorted.

"Your leftovers taste like crap."

"Go jump off a cliff Kankuro," Temari scowled.

"Ladies first," he countered.

"Then I'll be sure to step aside for you," she told him sweetly. His voice rumbled with annoyance, and she tamped down the urge to grin maniacally where her boss could see her. She had to keep up her calm and cool reputation, after all. "Is Gaara home?" she asked, her voice already softening as she thought about her youngest brother. Kankuro grunted.

"Yeah. Got home before I did," he told her, his own voice gaining a blunter, less sharp edge. "Want to talk to him?" Temari answered yes, and the phone crackled for a bit as Kankuro passed it to the red-haired Sabaku.

"… Hello?" Temari smiled slightly.

"Hi Gaara."

"… hello Temari." His voice was quiet and monotone, like it always was. He had always preferred isolation, and for a long time Temari thought he was a schizoid. When he was tested at the police academy for mental disorders, the psychologist gave him a clean bill and Temari almost breathed a sigh of relief. She was glad that his isolation was not because of something that she couldn't control, but at the same time she wondered why he preferred the isolation at all.

"Have you eaten?" she asked him, feeling her older sister worries start to kick in.

"… No," he replied. Temari sighed quietly.

"Gaara, you have to eat," she said to him a little firmly. "There are leftovers in the fridge, but you can make some eggs if that's what you want."

"… okay," he replied. There was a moment of silence. "… Temari?"

She perked up. "Yes Gaara?"

Another pause. "… Where are you?"

Temari was the one who paused this time, sneaking a glance at her boss from the corner of her eye. She smiled a bit. "I'm at a friend house. I'm fine, don't worry about me. I'll be home as soon as the rain starts letting up."

"… Okay. The weather channel says it'll let up tonight," he told her. Temari fumbled for the remote, turning on the TV and muting it as she changed stations. Gaara talked so quietly that the TV would overpower him if she let the sound on.

"Yeah, it looks like I can be home in time for dinner," she said. "Want me to get take-out?"

"… Yes please," he replied. Temari couldn't help smiling at his politeness. At least she had raised one brother right. (Kankuro was a lost cause by now.)

"Anything in particular?"

"… Ramen."

Temari blinked in mild surprise. "Ramen? You mean those Japanese noodle soup things?"

"… Yes."

For a moment, she wondered when he had ever tried ramen. Temari certainly didn't remember ordering it for him before. But she shrugged mentally and let it go; if Gaara was making friends then what did she have to complain about? He was doing better than her, that was for sure.

"Okay. Ramen it is," she conceded. She figured she'd just get her sushi and Kankurou usually went with the beef teriyaki so she'd order that for him. Faintly, Temari heard the pipes slosh into silence, and figured Ino was done showering, which meant she'd want the phone soon. Time to go. "I have to go. I'll see you guys tonight. Make sure you eat something," she added, unable to stop her big sister tendency to 'remind' them about things.

"… Bye Temari," Gaara replied, and Temari hit the end button on the phone. If she didn't cut the connection, her red-haired brother would stay on the line until she did. That was how he was. She stared a bit fondly at the telephone before putting it back on its holder. Shikamaru lounged beside it, smirking at her.

"… What?" she asked as she glared at him, a bit uncomfortable with the staring. He shrugged.

"Nothing. Just surprised, is all," he said nonchalantly, not looking surprised at all. Temari's eyes narrowed as she puzzled over his apparent 'surprise'.

"That I have brothers? I told you that a long time ago," she reminded him, raising a brow and crossing her arms. What kind of bullshit was he trying to pull with her? But Shikamaru smirked again, his dark eyes piercing as they centred on her turquoise ones. Her heart skipped a beat, but her facial expression didn't change.

"Yeah, you did," Shikamaru agreed, leaning back on the couch, his head cushioned by his hands. His partially wet t-shirt stretched tantalizingly over his chest, displaying the drawstring of his sweats and the hint of skin just above it. Temari's breath hitched, the reaction unnoticeable to anyone but her.

"So what's so surprising?" Temari asked when the silence stretched on, Chouji raiding Shikamaru's fridge even though he had eaten only minutes before. Her boss shrugged again.

"That you're a nag."

"… what?"

Temari steamed, her fingers digging into her arms. She was not a nag!

"You're a nag," Shikamaru repeated. He paused, then added, "To your brothers anyway."

Temari deflated, blinking. Well, that was kind of true. The only way Kankuro would do anything was if she talked his ear off. He would eventually get tired of her repeated, "Go wash the dishes!" and obey if only to get her to shut up. So yes, Temari supposed she was a nag.

"What's wrong with being a nag?" Ino asked, her hair dripping wet as she stood behind the couch, bent over Shikamaru and dripping water in his face. "If I wasn't a nag I wouldn't be able to get you lazy bastards to do anything," she half-joked, grinning. Shikamaru chuckled up at her, unbothered by the water droplets. He squeezed a lock of her hair in his hand and then used the water gathered in his palm to flick it in her face. She quickly moved away, making a silly face at him. He grinned, puffing his cheeks out at her. (1) Ino smacked his shoulder. "I am not fat!" she protested. "Take that back!" Shikamaru laughed, his good-natured smile undeterred even as she smacked his shoulder again.

Temari stilled from her seat on the armchair, basking in the sound of Shikamaru's laughter. She had never heard him laugh before. He always chuckled, a deep, throaty hum that sent shivers down her spine, making her smile at the knowledge that she had amused him in some way. Laughter had always seemed out of reach, maybe because Temari didn't know how to laugh herself. The most she ever managed was a smile, so rare and unnoticeable that it was privy only to her two brothers.

"They're lively today, aren't they?" Chouji asked from the armchair beside hers, munching on a bag of potato chips. He was smiling lightly, watching his two best friends poking and prodding at each other, trading insults and sarcasm, bickering and bantering. If Temari didn't know any better, she'd almost think they were brother and sister.

"Y-yeah," Temari stuttered, mentally wincing. Sabaku's did _not_ stutter. "It's… strange. I've never seen Shikamaru so…"

"Energetic?" Chouji supplied when she trailed off. The older woman nodded, a little melancholy. The bigger man smiled, shrugging. "That's not surprising," he said. "He's only like this when he's with us." _Us_, as in his two best friends, Chouji and Ino. Somehow, that made Temari feel better. It wasn't just that he loved Ino. It was that he trusted them enough to let down his barriers, to be vulnerable around them, to show them who he really was. And being his friend wasn't so hard to do, Temari thought. She'd get to that level of his trust, easy as pie.

Maybe.

The phone rang and Ino stopped in the middle of pulling Shikamaru's pineapple ponytail, her face brightening. "It's Hinata!" she exclaimed, making a dive for the phone. Shikamaru, disgruntled and rubbing his sore head, mumbled something about a shower and checking the damage on his razor before ambling away into his room. Chouji flicked the TV on as Ino began chattering a mile a minute, sitting cross-legged on the couch. The phone was pressed between her ear and her shoulder as she dug around the drawer of the coffee table for a sketchpad and some pencils. Temari, unsure of what to do, simply turned in the direction of the TV. But for some reason (maybe that curious, niggling part of her that wondered how well Ino did her job), she kept an ear open to the younger woman's conversation.

"Roses are too common," Ino said flippantly, making a shooing motion with her hand as she balanced the sketchpad on her knee. "Plus, I wanna incorporate something oriental into your theme. A lotus would be too obvious, maybe a peony?" There was a pause as she listened to Hinata speak. A pensive curve formed over her lips. "An _ogiku_? Hold on, let me google that." She opened the laptop, her nails clicking against the keys as she searched on Google Images.

"Ooh, those are pretty," she breathed, scrolling down the results, her eyes widening. She paused, and then grabbed her pencil, sketching. The paler blonde was silent as she sketched, listening to the quiet chatter of her friend on the other line. She smiled suddenly, obviously at something her friend just said. "Hinata," she giggled, "Don't be ridiculous. Sasuke's a commitment phobe and Neji just has a stick too far up his ass. I'm not surprised you and Naruto were the first to get hitched." Hinata said something else, and Temari had a feeling it was about Ino and Shikamaru. She was right when she saw Ino roll her eyes, grinning in a way that reminded Temari of someone who had heard something too many times to become outraged at it, and was amusedly resigned instead.

"We're not dating," she sighed, "we're just good friends. You know that, Hina-chan."

"_Just_ good friends?" Chouji asked, munching on his chips. "Well then what happened last night?" His tone was innocently curious, which only strengthened the blush that spread across Ino's face. She threw a pillow at him.

"Nothing happened last night!" Ino exclaimed. "We just slept together!" There was a gasp from the other line. Ino burned a brighter red. "Not like that, Hinata!" she protested. "We were just sleeping. Hina-chan, we were just—NO! Don't tell Forehead Girl! Hinata, don't you dare—" there was a click, and then dial tone. All the red in her face had fled, leaving a deathly white. "I'm doomed," she whispered.

"From what?" Shikamaru asked, rubbing his hair with a towel. Ino turned to him, her eyes now blazing with fire. He froze, gulping. "Ino…"

"This is all your fault," she hissed. "Do you hear me Shikamaru? My life is over and _it's all your fault!_" Nails unsheathed, Ino leapt over the couch and tackled Shikamaru with a great roar, much like a boar's battle cry. Temari watched surreally at the scene of her boss, the genius lawyer Shikamaru Nara, getting beaten up by a petite woman with delicate wrists who worked with flowers. Even stranger than that, the tussle made Temari think about Kankuro and the beating he was sure to get when she got home and found her room ransacked.

She flipped her cell phone open and sighed at the dead screen.

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(1) Okay, if you don't get this, then you are a sad, sad, ShikaIno fan. If you forgot, recall post-Chunin exams? After Shika's promoted? He's in the washroom, listening to Chouji and Ino talking in the hall? Yeah.


	8. Interlude Four

**My Boss The Genius**

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**INTERLUDE FOUR**

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"Are you sure you don't want to stay?" Ino asked, pouting a bit as she watched Temari throw on her jacket. The older woman nodded as she shouldered her purse, her teal eyes flickering unconsciously to her boss standing behind the younger woman. He was yawning, standing with Chouji as they had both been dragged to the door by Ino to say goodbye to their guest. ("It's polite!" Ino had nagged, her fingers pinching their ears.)

"I told my brothers I'd get take-out for them. If I don't, they'd starve themselves to death," she told the paler blonde. Ino grinned and rolled her eyes. Yeah, she knew what that was like.

"Well then be careful on your way home. The roads are still pretty slippery," she said.

"I will," Temari replied, opening the door. Her eyes flickered to Shikamaru, finding his dark eyes staring at her own. She paused before leaving, nodding her head at him. "See you at work." He nodded back at her, but didn't reply. That wasn't so unusual, since this was how they usually parted ways. She bid him goodbye and he would nod his head, normally because he was still thumbing through some last-minute papers.

The elevator doors opened and Temari stepped inside. "It was nice to meet you, Temari," Chouji smiled.

"Nice to meet you too," she managed to reply just as the doors slid closed. Then it was just her and the stagnant silence, somewhat awkward without Ino's pointless chatter and the crunch of Chouji's potato chips. She shifted to expel the dead air, tucking a strand of her blonde hair behind her ear. It was a relief when the doors opened on the first floor, allowing her to walk out of the lobby and into the NYC streets

The streets were mostly empty from the light trickles of rain still falling, but the moisture in the air didn't bother Temari much anymore. She started to walk down the street, hoping to find a cab to take her home but they seemed to be bereft from the roads. It made her groan inwardly, realizing that she'd probably have to walk home. The faint sound of a dog howled, and she remembered that she promised take-out for her brothers.

"I swear," Temari mumbled to herself, "my life sucks."

"I don't think it's that bad." Temari spun to see who spoke, her mouth dropping.

"You!" she exclaimed. The person grinned in a very familiar, roguish, way.

"Hi. I'm guessing you remember me?" he asked, one of his hands in his pocket.

"Yeah… you're from the coffee shop," Temari replied, shifting to face him fully. She smiled a bit. "What are you doing in the rain?" she asked. He smirked.

"I could ask you the same question," he replied.

She paused, but then said, "I'm heading home," and he grinned.

"Waited out the storm with a friend?" She nodded at his guess, falling into step beside him as he started to walk. It was an unconscious gesture, something she didn't even realize she had done until a second later, which was a second too late.

"You haven't answered my question," Temari informed him dully, narrowing her eyes in his direction. He chuckled, a sound that was rougher than Shikamaru's and yet somehow just as captivating; just as addicting. It made her smile, gave her an urge to smile that was too powerful to ignore and too hard to hide.

"I'm just taking a walk," he told her, shrugging and smiling easily. "My friend was getting restless in the house so we went out, until I lost him a few minutes ago." Temari blinked, 'oh'ing quietly and looking ahead at the wet sidewalks and raindrops misting the air.

"Aren't you worried about him?" she asked, knowing that if she ever lost track of where Gaara or Kankuro were, she'd freak out. Not that anyone would know she was freaking out, because panicking was _not_ a Sabaku thing. Sabaku's were always in control, and they always got it right the first time. That was how she knew Shikamaru was special; because he was the first person she'd ever fallen in love with.

"Nah," the man laughed. "He can take care of himself. He'll find me if he needs me." They lapsed into silence, just walking aimlessly along the streets now. Temari knew they were walking vaguely in the direction of her apartment, and wondered if he was going to walk her home. That would be such a chauvinistic and traditional thing to do, she mused, but somehow the thought of it was nice and made her duck her head to hide her smile.

"Well, I've got to get some take-out for my brothers," Temari told him, stopping in front of a Japanese restaurant. "Thanks for walking with me." He waved it off, showing his shiny teeth as he smiled brightly.

"I should be thanking you," he told her. "It's not often I get to walk with a beautiful woman."

Temari flushed red, her mouth dropping open. "I-I… I'm not," she stuttered, her teeth gritting. She must have looked quite mad, she thought, her eyebrows slanted down and her eyes narrowed into slits. But the man with the roguishly handsome grin just laughed at her reaction, putting his hand up in a goodbye salute.

"Maybe I'll see you again, yeah?" he asked, jogging away. Temari's lips quivered in their usual frown before they blossomed into a giddy smile that she hid under her hand. Yeah. Maybe she'd see him again. And the knowledge of that made Temari laugh, entering the restaurant just as the rain trickled away, leaving the clouds to part so the sun could shine.

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A/N I am on a roll! (You know what would keep me on my roll? REVIEWS! 8D -shot-)

Snowflake Flower


	9. Part Five

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**So I was thinking... I'm going to call it to a vote.**

**WHO DO YOU WANT THE MYSTERY MAN TO BE?**

**Please remember to vote, if you can after you finish this chapter. :)**

**(And try not to kill me. :D)**

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**My Boss The Genius**

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**PART FIVE**

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The phone rang, and Temari sighed inwardly. It would have been just another day at the office except for the fact that people had been calling incessantly in the last few days. She wasn't exactly sure why Shikamaru was getting such a heavy influx of phone calls, but that was because she was just his secretary and didn't have high enough clearance to know. It wasn't too hard to guess, though. The news channels had been rampant with coverage about a new gang that popped up, called Red Cloud or something. Federal agents had been in and out constantly, looking to speak with her genius boss. They all left looking like they had bitten into something sour.

Yeah. Shikamaru had that effect on people.

"Good afternoon, this is Shikamaru Nara's office, may I help you?"

"Hi Temari!" Ino's voice greeted cheerily over the phone. Temari blinked, wondering for a moment why Ino was calling Shikamaru's work phone. Didn't she have his cell number? "Shikamaru shut off his cellphone, so I had to call his work line. Is he in?" she asked, answering Temari's question for her. Temari floundered for his schedule, thumbing through it.

"Uhh, yeah he is but—"

"Great!"

The doors burst open and Ino sauntered in, looking like the cat who got the cream. She headed straight for Shikamaru's office, rather unconcerned that she was about to interrupt a meeting Shikamaru had with the FBI. Panicked, but realizing too late what she was planning to do, Temari rushed to Ino just as she flung the doors open, her protest fading into Ino's exuberant yell. (She was so fired.)

"Sasuke-kun~!" she sing-songed, her voice suddenly sugary-sweet. Ino pranced into the room, fluttering her eyelashes at a dark-haired figure standing by Shikamaru's desk. "Oh Sasuke-kun, I missed you so much! How was your trip to Japan? Did you bring me back anything?" It was so surreal, Temari thought, watching Ino latch onto the arm of the stoic federal agent. He seemed to twitch a bit when she touched him, but was otherwise unfazed. As for Shikamaru, the lawyer rolled his eyes from behind his desk, surprisingly unconcerned with Ino's affection for this incredibly handsome man she apparently knew.

"Hey, what about me?" the man beside Sasuke asked, his hair a sunny blonde and curious thin lines across his cheeks. Ino smirked at him.

"I'm sure you already got an enthusiastic enough welcome from Hinata-chan," she teased, surprising Temari a bit. (This was her client's fiancé?) He sputtered in embarrassment, his face turning red and highlighting the lines on his cheeks (scars, Temari guessed).

"We… we didn't do anything! Hinata-chan wouldn't—she'd never—not before the wedding day—" he protested, waving his hands. It contrasted the stereotype of a professional, stoic FBI agent that he was supposed to be, which made Temari wonder if perhaps he was new to the whole profession. Still, despite his unprofessionalism, his flustering was amusing and a little bit endearing.

"I didn't say anything about the dirty deed, _Na-ru-to_," Ino teased, giggling. His mouth clipped closed, and he looked away, trying to hide the bright red flitting over his cheeks and the bridge of his nose. It made Ino giggle again as she cuddled Sasuke's arm. "Now then, where were we Sasuke-kun?" she cooed. The tall, dark, and handsome FBI agent looked coolly at her, his expression deadpan.

"Get off," he told her bluntly, and she pouted, cuddling him more like she was trying to piss him off. It made Temari wonder if Ino was as crazy as she was a nagger, trying to provoke a lethal federal agent who probably hid more weapons in his suit than Temari had collectible fans.

"Aw, Sasuke-kun! Stop acting so cold," Ino whined. "Or else I won't give you what you really want." She giggled and winked, sliding her hand down his chest. Disgusted, he plucked it off and tossed it away, untangling his arm from her two in the process. Shikamaru looked rather nonchalantly at the scene, despite the fact that it was supposedly the love of his life he was watching come on to another man.

"Sakura," Sasuke snarled out between clenched teeth, like a reminder. Possibly a girl he was dating? Apparently Ino seemed to know her, because she flipped her long blonde ponytail over her shoulder, smiling sultrily.

"I don't think Forehead Girl would mind," Ino said, reaching for him. He caught her advancing hand in his, moving faster than Temari could see. Obviously this guy was FBI to a T. He was stoic, didn't talk much, and was a total jackass. Temari wondered how he ever managed to get a girlfriend. Actually, she wondered who could actually put up with this guy past a one night stand, let alone one of Ino's peppy friends.

"Go. Away," he hissed, eyes narrowing warningly. Ino pouted, jerking her wrist out of his tight grasp. She held it delicately to her chest, almost cradling it. Temari was a bit surprised to see the red mark that Sasuke left. For it to have left an indentation meant that he had squeezed her wrist rather tightly, and it probably hurt. Shikamaru saw it as well, and his eyes narrowed.

"Fine," she relented, fake-sniffling and pretending to brush away a tear. "I know when I'm not wanted." Not feeling any pain (or just not showing it), she turned to Shikamaru, a bright grin overtaking her face as she pranced towards him. "Shika-kun!" He rolled his eyes and grunted when Ino plopped onto his lap, her legs hanging off the arm of his chair. She wound her arms around him, nuzzling her nose into his neck and blinking her pretty blue eyes up at him. "Shika-kun, Sasuke-kun was mean to me," she pouted, pretending to fake sniffle again.

"Tell me something new," he griped in annoyance, but Temari saw his left arm thrown loosely around her waist. One of Ino's hands came down to play with his shirt collar and Shikamaru's fingers gently massaged her new pseudo-bracelet. "Can I get back to work now?" he asked her, and she smiled brightly and nodded, burrowing further into him like she wasn't going to move. Shikamaru certainly acted like he didn't want her to move, his arm tightening around her waist.

Wait, what? Shikamaru was going to let her sit in on his private, confidential meeting? Were the FBI agents going to allow this too? They shouldn't, Ino was a civilian! She had less clearance than _Temari _did to listen in on such vital information. But there she sat anyways, all cozy and comfortable atop Shikamaru's lap, looking _very_ much the cat that got the cream.

"That reminds me," Sasuke spoke, thumbing through the file spread out over Shikamaru's desk. He picked one up, holding it for Ino's perusal. "Yamanaka. Profile."

"Oh Sasuke-kun, your poeticism with words is so amazing," she sighed, pretending to swoon. He glared at her, causing her to roll her eyes before looking closely and seriously at the page. She hummed, resting her temple on Shikamaru's collar bone, frowning at what she saw… or didn't see. "This isn't going to be easy. You're not giving me a lot to go on, Sasuke," she told him, seeming unwilling to do the psychoanalysis. But Temari saw Shikamaru sweep his hand up her back, his head lowering ever-so-slightly to whisper in her ear. Apparently, what he was offering to her was something not to be missed, because her eyes brightened and she smiled giddily. "You do know this is going to cost you again," she informed the FBI agents.

Sasuke tensed. "Yes, we know that." Ino shrugged.

"Alright then. Give me a few days," she said, snatching the file from his hand and beginning to thumb through it in earnest. Shikamaru smirked a bit at her enthusiasm, his hand continuing up to tangle at the nape of her neck, strands of pale blonde entwined between his fingers. It was only after that did Shikamaru notice Temari standing in the doorway. His eyes narrowed.

Crap.

"Temari, can you go get us some coffee?" he asked, and she knew it was a way for him to send her away from the conversation. Her heart throbbed a bit, wondering why he didn't think her trustworthy enough to keep this confidential information to herself. She knew the delicacy of the situation; she handled this kind of top-secret information on a regular basis!

Ino's eyes lit up. "Oh, oh, oh!" she exclaimed, her hand shooting up. "Let me come! I'm craving a decaf cinnamon dolce double-blended Caffe Americano drizzled with caramel."

She was promptly met with four pairs of blank stares. "What?" she asked indignantly.

Shikamaru glared at her. "Again with the decaf? What is it with you and decaf?" he asked, and she glared back at him.

"Does that even taste good?" Naruto asked, looking thoroughly confused. Ino (faster than Temari could see) picked up the paperweight in front of her and chucked it at the blonde male. It hit the bulls-eye. (And what the bulls-eye is, you will have to use your imagination for.)

"Of course it's good!" she shrieked, baring her pearly whites like a vampire. "Why would you ask such a stupid question? God! Men!" Scowling, she crossed her arms and leaned into Shikamaru, who sighed and patted her knee, placating her. She shooed his placating hand away with hers, obviously not looking to calm down. Her childishness made him roll his eyes, but he took his hand away from her knee, redirecting it to cushion his cheek instead. Temari could just see the thought playing across his face, "What a troublesome woman."

"Temari!" Ino shouted, making the older woman jump a bit from the strength of her voice. The florist got off of Shikamaru's lap, her hands on her hips as she stalked towards the other female in the room. "Let's go get some coffee together," she said nonchalantly, twining arms with Temari. "We can leave the chauvinists to their boring meeting and _not get them any coffee _because we are empowered, independent women!"

Shikamaru rolled his eyes, but waved them away. Ino stuck her tongue out at him, unable to leave without the last word (or gesture) and slamming the door on her way out. Once the door was closed, Ino turned to her with a sunny smile. "So now that we've ditched them," she said, grinning so impishly that Temari started to have a bad feeling about this, "let's get my decaf cinnamon dolce double-blended Caffe Americano drizzled with caramel and get on with the girl talk!"

Yeah, Temari had a _very_ bad feeling about this.

Ino yanked on her arm, dragging her down to the elevator despite the secretary's protests. The coffee shop was right across the street (Cocoa Bean Café, as it was aptly named) and Ino bee-lined towards it, her eyes glinting with something that Temari equated to being sinister… for her anyways.

The bell jingled invitingly as Ino pushed it open, taking a deep whiff of the smell of cocoa beans that permeated the air. She sighed in bliss, ambling over to the counter with Temari following behind her, a little more cautious. The barista and owner of the café, a middle-aged woman, smiled kindly at her. "Hello Ino, I haven't seen you here in awhile," she said. The blonde shrugged.

"I have a big client, so I'll be super busy the next few months," she said proudly, flipping her long ponytail over her shoulder. The barista laughed, moving towards the cash as she punched in a few numbers.

"But you found time for Shikamaru, yeah? How is he anyways?" she asked, before looking up from the register. "And what are you craving today?" Ino grinned at her light, teasing tone.

"Ready for this?" Ino took a deep breath. "I want a decaf, cinnamon dolce, double-blended Caffe Americano drizzled with caramel." The barista's eyes widened before she laughed, shaking her head and punching in the order. Ino looked over at Temari, her eyes sparkling in laughter. "What do you want Temari? My treat," she offered. Temari shifted, digging into her purse.

"That's not necessary," Temari protested finding some crumpled up bills. "I'll just have a large black coffee," she told the barista. Temari had a feeling she was going to need all that coffee. Maybe it was because she knew she was probably going to be pulling an all-nighter, or maybe it was to help her through the impending "girl talk". She had never "girl talked" with anyone before and had a feeling that Ino lived and breathed it, making her feel a bit inferior.

Ino shrugged as Temari paid her share, digging into her chic purse for her wallet, which also happened to be very chic. Temari looked down at her worn, plain brown wallet and grimaced a bit. She was dressed rather simply, in a white blouse and a black skirt, because she had never bothered to care about her clothes. But she looked at Ino then, who wore a pretty, feminine white business suit and a pastel purple blouse. The glow of the lights from the ceiling accentuated her soft features, making her the damsel-in-distress of every man's fantasy. She was not… manly… like Temari looked in her rather blockish clothes.

Temari pulled at her black skirt, hoping that maybe that little gesture would somehow make her look less like a rectangle and more like a curve. She knew it was probably useless, wincing mentally and the sneaks Ino got from the few men in the store. One of them was staring unabashedly at her, his head tilting to the side and a calculating look in his eyes. Temari hoped he wasn't thinking about hitting on the florist; or then again, if Ino took to it positively…

She squashed that thought quickly.

"One large black coffee," the barista said cheerily as she placed the steaming cup on the counter. Temari nodded thankfully at her, feeling the heat seep into her fingers as she picked it up. The barista turned around to begin Ino's order, and the florist turned to Temari with a grin.

"So you're from Australia?" she asked, and Temari nodded. "What brings you to New York, New York?" Her words were laced with mirth, finding amusement in the repetition. Temari shrugged.

"My brothers and I—" Temari started, her eyes roving over Ino's shoulder, to the man who was advancing towards them, that calculating gleam still in his eyes. Her words died in her throat when she saw him reach into his coat, pulling out a gun capped with a silencer.

Screams arose from around her, and Temari could hear them but for some reason they were not clear as she watched, horrified, when he squeezed the trigger. Ino turned as she heard the screams, and Temari could not see her face when the bullet pierced her shoulder, but could guess what it looked like when drops of her blood splattered onto Temari's cheek. She fell backwards, almost gracefully, into Temari and her weight brought the older woman to her knees.

Temari looked up at the shooter, at his sadistically grinning face, and saw him aim the gun again. Frantically, finding her senses, she pulled Ino backwards just as the bullet fired, grazing Ino's side. An agonized scream resounded through the room, ringing in Temari's ear. She only realized seconds later that it was Ino's scream, her small, pale hand coming up to cradle her side.

"FBI, hands up!"

Sasuke and Naruto burst into the coffee shop, their guns levelled on the man with that infuriatingly calm expression. Naruto's face was grave and serious, and it was then that Temari knew the sunny blonde man with the whisker marks was not, at all, a newbie. There was a war raging in his eyes, a war that bespoke of battle scars and survival. Fighting was not new to him.

Apparently, it seemed it was not new to Shikamaru either. He entered after Sasuke and Naruto, a gun gripped to his side in a tight grip. There was a fury in his dark eyes that she had never seen before, an ease with the way he held the gun. He gripped it like a lost lover, like an old friend. He gripped it as if it was the only thing keeping him sane. And maybe, Temari thought as his eyes flickered to Ino gasping in her arms, it was.

"About fuckin' time, Nara," the shooter smirked, his gun still aimed at the two blonde women on the floor. Shikamaru advanced forward, just past Sasuke and Naruto.

"Hidan," the lawyer replied coolly, not moving to aim his gun. "I thought I threw your ass in jail." Hidan snorted.

"I broke out a few years ago," he shrugged, smirking. "Fuckin' cells don't do it for me, ya know?"

Ino coughed blood on the floor, bleeding badly but the fire never leaving her eyes as she looked up at him with a mocking flash of her eyes. "Because you're afraid of being buried alive," she gasped out. Hidan's eyes narrowed dangerously at her, his hand tightening on his gun.

"You never knew when to keep your fuckin' mouth shut, Yamanaka," he snarled. Another round left his gun, but it only grazed Temari's cheek when she hurriedly moved the two of them. Hidan vaulted over the counter when Shikamaru took a shot at him, Sasuke and Naruto following close behind, their guns exploding loudly as they tried to shoot him. Shikamaru strapped his gun back in its holster, collapsing to his knees beside Ino.

"Oh god," he breathed, his hands hovering over her body, terrified to touch her. "Ino, what the hell were you thinking, provoking him like that?" Ino reached out almost blindly, her eyes glazing over with the pain. She caught his hand, squeezing it as tightly as she could with her pale one.

"It hurts," she whimpered, her body limp as she struggled to keep hold of his hand. He tightened his around hers, not letting it escape as the anguish swept over his face. "Shika, it hurts so bad, please make it stop." Temari let her hands fall to her sides as her boss took Ino off her lap, transferring it to his arms. He was careful not to touch her wounds, running his hand down her bloody cheek, the tears swimming in his dark eyes.

"I will," he promised fervently, continuing to stroke her cheek. "Just hang on, Ino, until Sakura gets here. Then everything will be better." Ino grinned faintly, her eyes starting to slip closed.

"Sak'ra?" she mumbled, her blood seeping out from under Shikamaru's shaking hand as he tried to quell the wound in her side. "Tha' For'd G'rl woul' jus' leave m'to die so I don'… so I don' flir' wi' Sas… Sas'ke." Her eyes fluttered closed, the rhythm of her breath slow and steady, unnoticeable when paramedics burst into the café, one of them sporting pink hair and striking green eyes.

"I won't let you die," Temari heard Shikamaru whisper into Ino's ear, a clear drop of water landing on her cheek. He could say no more when the pink-haired medic knelt beside him, taking Ino from his arms so she could transfer the blonde to the stretcher, barking orders all the while.

"Ma'am, are you hurt?" one of the paramedics asked, scanning her for injuries. Temari blinked, but shook her head.

"No, no I'm okay," she told them, and they took no time dashing into the ambulance to help the other paramedics. The graze on her cheek throbbed a bit and bled slowly, but she paid it no mind. She was okay.

But when she looked over to her boss, saw him hide his face in his slumped shoulders, hide his tears in the pool of blood on the floor, Temari did not feel okay. Because now she really wished that it was just another day at the office.


	10. Interlude Five

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**I almost can't believe how fast I'm getting these out! :O**

**And it's all thanks to you guys! Your reviews made me so happy~!**

**So this interlude is not as exciting as part five, buut I hope you like it anyways. **

**Enjoy! :)**

**(By the way, an overwhelming vote for Kiba! Are you guys psychic or something?)**

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**My Boss The Genius**

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**INTERLUDE FIVE**

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Well. She was right about needing that large cup of black coffee.

Temari sat slumped against the wall of the hallway, hating how weak and fragile she probably looked but unable to help it when her bones sang for sleep and her eyes fluttered with drowsiness. There was a white bandage on her cheek, covering the cut she got from almost missing that bullet. It stung slightly, a ripple of feeling that was easily ignored in favour of her boss pacing in front of the ICU. He was so edgy and out-of-sorts, his hands clenching and unclenching, running over his head, covering his mouth, rubbing his eyes. Temari found it uncharacteristic, as the lawyer was usually so calm and composed, so reluctant to move unless it was necessary.

"Shikamaru, maybe you should sit down," she suggested. He was going to wear a hole in the floor with his pacing, and he was making her kind of dizzy. Shikamaru paused and looked at her for a moment, before he sighed and flopped onto a chair on the other side of the hallway, burying his face in his hands. Temari relaxed a bit, glad that he had listened to her. She had relaxed too soon, because a second later Shikamaru leapt up and violently kicked the chair, cursing and running his hand down his face. She jumped from the loud sound.

"The walking keeps him from thinking about it," someone piped up behind her, and she jolted again. Chouji was standing behind her, a worried smile on his face as he eased into the chair beside her. Together, the two of them followed Shikamaru as he paced back and forth, back and forth, along the hallway. His footsteps were the only ones that echoed, but Temari heard a fainter pair nearing, and she turned her head to see who it was.

"Shikamaru."

Her eyes widened. He was… older, scruffier, and had a long, wicked scar on his face. But it was the same ponytail, the same slumped shoulders, the same hands stuffed into pants pockets.

It was Shikamaru's—

"Dad," Shikamaru said, mildly surprised. "What are you—"

"FBI came knockin'," the scarred man said gruffly, walking towards his son. "We know what happened."

We?

"_Shikamaru!_"

Temari jumped at the shrilly voice, her heart beating frantically as she turned to see a middle-aged woman shuffled towards the father and son pair, her face harried. "Shikamaru!" she shouted again, leaping into the man's arms and pulling back just as quickly, patting him down. "You're okay, aren't you? That gangster asshole didn't shoot you, right?" she asked quickly, cupping his cheeks. Shikamaru sighed and grabbed her hands.

"Mom, I'm fine," he told her, and Temari's mouth dropped a little. That was his mom? "But Ino… She lost a lot of blood." A pained look came over his face, and he blinked to will away the tears. His mom bit her lip, before hugging him again, this time not letting go. "I wish," Shikamaru gasped out, trying not to sob, "I wish I was the one in there instead of her."

Temari's heart dropped, knowing how he felt. She would have taken Ino's place if she could, because watching Shikamaru act like this was nearly unbearable. There was the slightest quiver to his hands as he wrapped his arms around his mom's smaller torso, burying his face in her shoulder. Somehow, she knew he was crying into it, disguising what he perceived as his weakness, muffling his anguish. Shikamaru's father reached over to rub his shoulder, his eyes dark with emotion as he watched his son's normally composed stature break into tiny pieces.

"Don't say that," his mom hissed, her hand pressed against the back of his head. "Don't even _think_ about it, you lazy child-of-mine. Ino is a strong girl; she's going to make it because she's going to _fight_. God knows if it was you on that table, you'd just label it too troublesome and die."

Shikamaru laughed into his mother's shoulder. Pulling back, he covered his swimming eyes with his forearm. However, there was a smile on his lips, and when his forearm came down, his eyes were smiling too. "Yeah, you're right mom," he said, "Ino's too troublesome to just die."

"Are you kidding?" Chouji piped up, catching both Temari and the Nara family's attention. "She'd stay alive just to tell me I was eating too much." There was an easy smile on his face, infectious when it stretched over Shikamaru and his dad's lips. His mom, however, scowled and stalked forward, her hands on her hips. It was like déjà vu for Temari, only the woman stalking towards them had blonde hair and blue eyes, not black eyes and brown hair.

"You _are_ eating too much," she lectured, stopping in front of him and tapping her foot against the tile. "And eating too much of the wrong thing. When was the last time you ate a vegetable?" His sheepish shrug was enough for her, and she clucked her tongue in disapproval. "I'm going to have to have a talk with your mother, Chouji—"

"Excuse me?"

Five heads turned to the source of the voice, a doctor in bloodied scrubs, her mask hanging limply around her neck. There was a tired, but triumphant, smile on her face. Temari recognized her, the pink-haired paramedic in the ambulance. Apparently she wasn't just a paramedic, but a surgeon. And not only that, it seemed that she was a friend too.

"Sakura!" Shikamaru exclaimed, his previously relaxed figure tensing now at her presence. "Sakura, how—"

"She's okay," the surgeon said, cutting him off. "She lost a lot of blood, but the bullet hit a non-vital spot and her side's been stitched up." A comforting smile laced her face, and suddenly Temari knew why this woman bothered to stay with that stoic FBI agent. Her smile healed, her heart nurtured. Just standing in her presence, you know she would mend that break in your chest. This woman had been born to save people. And Sasuke had been born to be saved.

"She's okay?" Shikamaru asked, his voice feather-light, almost disbelieving. Sakura laughed, the sound ringing clearly in all their ears.

"She's okay."

And suddenly, Temari felt okay too.


	11. Part Six

**My Boss The Genius**

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**PART SIX**

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The hospital was blissfully quiet, only the faint sounds of beeping machines and shuffling feet heard past Temari's heels clicking against the floor. Shikamaru was walking with a steady gait beside her, the corners of his lips turned down in their customary frown. There was a wrinkle in his forehead that Temari knew meant he was thinking hard about something, but it was the dark shadow in his eyes told her his thoughts were not pleasant. They reached an unassuming, ordinary door in the middle of the hallway. It had a window on the top half, meant for nurses and doctors to check in on the patient inside. Temari supposed it was also for guests who were reluctant to walk in, reluctant to face the reality that someone they loved may be dying in that room. She wondered if that was what it was to Shikamaru, who paused for just the slightest second as he was faced with it. The moment passed as quickly as it came, however, and he pushed the door open.

"Daddy… daddy stop that! I can feed myself, I'm not a child!" Ino protested hotly as she reclined on the hospital bed. Her father, Inoichi Yamanaka, was a tall man with the same long, beautiful blonde hair as his daughter's. There was a harshness, a coldness that radiated from him when he and Temari first met, but that all fell to pieces once he saw his only daughter, his only child, lying still on that hospital bed. Now he was the picture perfect doting father, attempting to make train noises as he pressed the spoon of bad hospital porridge closer to her mouth.

"Ino, princess, just one? For daddy?" he pleaded as she jerked her head away, her eyes flashing and a growl rising from her throat. Chouji was sitting on the wall opposite to the two Yamanaka's, munching on his trademark potato chips and letting the scene play out to his amusement, while Shikamaru's dad – Shikaku, as she found out later – smirked from the seat beside him.

"Eat your porridge, Ino," Shikamaru drawled from the doorway, and her head shot up at the sound of his voice. A smile brightened over her lips, and Temari's heart panged.

"Shikamaru!" she exclaimed cheerily, before her face fell into a growl. "Where the hell have you been? I am lying, horribly injured, in this hospital bed and you don't have the decency to _be on time to visit me_?" Her screech echoed through the room, and they all winced at the soprano tones of her voice. Temari supposed that Ino didn't know they were late because her boss had holed himself up in his office, speaking at length to Sasuke and Naruto. The FBI agents had been around the office a lot, and she had a sneaking suspicion they were collaborating on the search and capture of the shooter, Hidan.

Shikamaru rolled his eyes, leaning against the wall and stuffing his right hand into his pockets. "Traffic was bad," he offered as an excuse, and Ino's eyes narrowed further.

"You don't own a car," she reminded him pointedly. He shrugged.

"Train traffic, then."

"The hospital's walking distance from your work."

"There were lots of people on the street."

"JUST ADMIT THAT YOU'RE A LAZY BASTARD!"

Shikamaru smirked. "Now, now Ino. Be nice, or I won't give you your present," he teased, dangling a coffee cup in front of her, the side emblazoned with the Cocoa Bean Café logo. Her face brightened, and she smiled sugar-sweet, fluttering her lashes cutely at the genius lawyer.

"Shikamaru!" Inoichi exclaimed, appalled. "You can't bring outside food into the hospital!" He was promptly ignored by his daughter, however, who snatched the coffee cup out of Shikamaru's hands as he stepped forward to her bedside. She took a sip of it and melted in junkie happiness (that girl really was addicted to coffee). Her head lolled to the side, cuddling into Shikamaru's chest and she stared up at him as if he were her personal messiah.

"Decaf cinnamon dolce double-blended Caffe Americano drizzled with caramel," Ino told the room at large dreamily, taking another sip of her ridiculously long-named coffee. Shikamaru rolled his eyes at her overdramatic-ness, but a grin tugged at his lips and his hand was playing with the ends of her hair, wrapping the white-gold strands around his fingers. And Ino had not pulled away, rather comfortable as she rested her head against him.

It was magical, Temari decided as she watched them, the way they were around each other. There was no awkwardness, no sense of separation. She moved her head, he shifted his stance to accommodate her. He reached up to touch more of her hair, she brushed it back to let him. The instinct with which they reacted to each other was both surreal and serene, impossible and beautiful all at once. It made her heart ache as she wondered if that would ever happen to her someday.

But not with Shikamaru. Never with Shikamaru, Temari realized as she saw his hand brush reassuringly over Ino's shoulder. It was a gesture of comfort, not for Ino, but for himself. Because he wanted to reassure himself that she was alive, that she survived the bullet, that she was here and she was happy with him. His dark eyes were bright and flickered with amusement now, the shadow gone. They had been chased away by Ino's laughter, by her nagging and her white-gold hair and the sky-blue of her eyes. Temari knew that, she understood what the florist was to her genius boss.

But it still hurt.

"How's your cheek, Temari?"

"What?" she asked, blinking in confusion when she was pulled back to reality. She looked over at Ino, who was smiling at her, gesturing to the white, square bandage on her cheek. Unconsciously, Temari reached up to touch it, remembering how she had sat in a small check-up room in the hospital, a nurse fixing it up while doctors raced across the hallway towards the ICU. "Its fine," Temari replied, letting her hand fall listlessly to her side, catching sight of the bandages wrapped around Ino's shoulder, the care with which the paler blonde moved in fear of upsetting the stitches on her side. "You should be more worried about yourself."

Ino shrugged, smiling at her. "The only reason I'm still here is because of you," she reminded the Australian, chuckling. "You took a bullet for me." Temari flushed red, her eyes flickering to the side.

"It was just a graze," she protested mildly, crossing her arms.

"But it still saved my life," Ino replied gently, seeing how flustered the normally calm woman was becoming. "Thank you."

"Ah… you're welcome," Temari said, seeing the pointed look Shikamaru was giving her. Ino wasn't going to let go of the issue if she kept denying the other blonde's gratitude. It was best to just accept it and continue on her way, she supposed. It was a bit hard too, though, when Inoichi stood up to shake her hand with both of his, bowing at the same time as he spouted gratuities. It was almost enough to distract her from Shikamaru's phone ringing, which normally wasn't a cause of concern. But when he looked at the caller ID, the neutral line of his mouth turned into a frown. He picked up.

"Hello?"

Temari couldn't hear any mumbling from the caller, but she could tell it wasn't good news when Shikamaru's eyes narrowed and his lips tightened. He untangled his fingers from Ino's hair, letting the strands slip from his fingers as he strolled to the door, still listening to the person on the other end. By now, everyone had his attention, watching suspiciously as he stopped near the door, as if he would have use for it soon. Temari felt a sinking in her chest, a sensation she was sure was mirrored in Ino as well when the florist looked downright anxious.

"Yeah. Uh huh. I'll be there in ten minutes. If either of you move before I get there, I'll kick both your asses got me?" He hung up abruptly, muttering, "Troublesome," as he did. The lawyer turned to Ino, but the excuse he was going to give her for his departure died in his throat when faced with her narrowed, angry eyes. "Ino…" he said softly, almost warningly.

"Don't," she snarled curtly, crossing her arms. "Don't you dare tell me that was Naruto on the phone, Shikamaru, don't you dare!" He sighed, walking forward again to her bedside and trying to touch her, trying to say her name and explain. But she slapped his reaching hand away, scooting to the opposite side of the bed, trying to put distance between them. "You promised, Shikamaru!" she yelled at him. And despite her anger, Temari could see the pinpricks of tears gathering at the corners of her eyes.

"Ino, they shot you!" Shikamaru yelled right back. "What do you expect me to do; nothing?"

"Yes!" Ino said hoarsely, her hands quivering as they swept quickly along her eyes. "Let Sasuke and Naruto handle it, you know they can." Shikamaru's fists clenched at their sides, scowling outright now as he was locked in a stare with the florist. The tension was palpable, but only served to confuse Temari. Everyone else in the room seemed to understand, though, the way they solemnly watched the two arguing.

"It'll be better if I was there to coordinate," he insisted.

"Like hell!" she scoffed. "You think I don't know that you're going to join them instead of staying at the base? I may not be a genius, Shikamaru, but I'm not an idiot either!"

"I never said you were an idiot."

"You implied it!"

"This is ridiculous, I'm going." He turned to leave, walking to the door briskly. Temari heard the machines in the room beeping faster. Ino was panicking.

"Shika, no!" she exclaimed, scrambling forward and upsetting the tubes and wires connected to her body. Several machines started going off as their sensors were disrupted, catching Shikamaru's attention and making him turn back around. Ino had gotten off the bed, looking resolutely in his direction. Temari could tell from the look on her face that she wanted to drag him further back into the room and keep him there.

"Damn it, Ino!" he growled, trying to get her back into her hospital bed. "Stop being so troublesome." She fought back, trying to avoid being placed back onto the bed, in hopes that would deter him long enough for Sasuke and Naruto (especially Naruto) to get impatient and start their mission or whatever without him. Inoichi tried to help, reaching over the bed for his daughter.

"What the hell is going on?" Sakura asked as she walked in, her eyes narrowed until they widened at the sight of Ino out of bed. "Ino, what the hell are you doing? Get back on the bed!" She rushed forward, trying to pry Ino's fingers off of Shikamaru's arms. The blonde struggled the entire way, gnashing her teeth at them. "Stop moving, pig!" Sakura shouted. "You're going to open your stitches!"

"No!" she cried as her dad got a good hold on her, dragging her on the bed. Shikamaru escaped her grasping hands, pulling back quickly and letting Sakura step into his spot. "No, Sakura don't let him leave!" She struggled violently in her capture, ignoring the blood spotting on her side and shoulder. Shikamaru noticed it, a grimace to his face. Temari could tell he was tormented, wanting to stay and make sure Ino was going to be okay, but he knew that he needed to go. So he turned to the door. "NO!"

"Damn it!" Sakura cursed, grabbing a needle on a table near the bed as Ino's wounds got worse. She jabbed it into Ino's neck, the liquid pushed quickly into Ino's system. It was a sedative of some sort, quick and efficiently knocking the thrashing woman out. She fell limp in her father's arms, and Sakura immediately started to tend to her wounds. Shikamaru saw none of it, already out the door and down the hallway. She suspected he didn't want to stay around and see what kind of damage he aggravated Ino to inflict on herself.

Temari stepped out of the hospital room, joining Chouji, Inoichi, and Shikakau as they were also shooed out by the pink-haired doctor. "Where is he going?" she asked Chouji. The large man sighed, no longer munching on his half-full bag of potato chips. There was a sombre note to his tone as he answered her.

"He's going to get revenge."


	12. Interlude Six

**My Boss The Genius**

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**INTERLUDE SIX**

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Temari sighed tiredly as she dragged her feet into the office, throwing her bag onto her desk. She didn't know where else to go once she left the hospital, after checking that Ino was resting with the help of the sedative. Doctor Haruno said she'd wake in the next few hours, so Temari just left. She didn't think she could hang around in that silent room, waiting for someone she didn't even know all that well to wake up. So the woman did what she'd always done to take her mind off of something; she worked.

"Meeting with the board in the morning," she muttered to herself, thumbing through her genius boss' schedule. Shikamaru had been in conference with the FBI so long that she knew he hadn't compiled notes for his meeting with the board. Rubbing her eyes in slight annoyance, Temari got out of her desk to enter his office, heading for the cabinets on wall to her right. Despite his laziness, Shikamaru was always very organized and neat about his work. She figured looking through messy files was more "troublesome" than alphabetizing them. A smile played at her lips at that thought, pulling open a drawer.

"Let's see… federal agent cases," she murmured to herself as she thumbed through the stacks. There were quite a bit of them, Temari thought as the revelation came to her slowly. Why was that? There were many other capable lawyers in the company, yet Shikamaru always got the brunt of them. And come to think of it, why were federal agents even having conferences with her boss? He was just a lawyer. If nothing, he should've been consulted _after_ the criminal had been caught.

Curious, Temari looked up, her eyes sweeping the room like they would give her an answer. She shut the drawer, carrying a few folders and leaving his office. They were deposited on her desk before she turned sharply to head to one of her co-workers cubicles. They worked here far longer than she had, maybe they would know.

Many of her co-workers had gone home, except for one. Udon was idly typing away on his calculator. The young man was part of the financial division, and a whiz with numbers. He always seemed to be snuffling and sneezing though, a napkin or handkerchief always close by. Despite his lack of experience and young age, Udon was still quite an asset to the company, and was definitely here before Temari. He started as an intern, but was hired later for his efficiency.

"Oh, Mr. Nara?" he responded when Temari approached him. "Well as you know, his work is mostly normal lawyer stuff," yes, she knew that, she worked for him, "but he wasn't really hired by the company."

"What?" Temari asked, raising a brow and glowering at the young man. She wanted to hurry this along. And how did Shikamaru get his job if he wasn't hired by the company? Udon gulped at her impatient look, sniffling and wiping his nose with a tissue.

"Well, officially-speaking, Mr. Nara is our FBI liaison," he replied quickly. "He handles all the federal agent cases, because the FBI put him here to do that."

… what? Shikamaru is **FBI**?

"Why would they do something like that?" Temari murmured to herself. But Udon apparently thought it was a question for him, and a shifty look came over his face.

"No one really knows for sure," he whispered to her quietly, catching her attention, "but rumour has it that one of Mr. Nara's cases went really bad, and he became really volatile and out-of-control. They put him here, hoping that he would calm down."

_Volatile?_

_Bad case?_

_Out-of-control?_

"_He's going to get revenge."_

Oh my god.

Temari turned sharply, ignoring Udon's calls and questions, walking quickly back to Shikamaru's office. She reached for the cabinets, opening the drawers and thumbing through all the reports. There was something in here… she remembered looking at it once before, an unsolved trial that had never been able to convene in court because the suspect had escaped. Temari had only briefly skimmed it when she was reading through Shikamaru's successful prosecutions. She ignored it because of its incompletion, but now she was starting to understand its significance.

"_FBI special agent, Asuma Sarutobi, killed in action while hunting down Red Cloud member, alias Hidan. Probationary agent, Chouji Akimichi fatally injured in the attack while trying to rescue fellow probationary agent, Ino Yamanaka from Red Cloud member, alias Hidan's, capture…_"


	13. Part Seven

**My Boss The Genius**

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**PART SEVEN**

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Temari pursed her lips ever so slightly, tamping down the urge to tap her foot repeatedly on the elevator floor. The liftman was there, smiling to himself as he hummed some tune she was unfamiliar with, but sounded cheery and uplifting. Part of her wanted to tell him to stop, but that would be rude. And he really was a very nice liftman, not asking any questions when she told him to take her to Shikamaru's floor. The elevator dinged, and the doors slid open easily. She nodded her thanks to the liftman, stepping into the enclosure and waiting for the elevator to leave before she knocked hurriedly on the door.

"Shikamaru!" she called, hoping he was home. "Are you there? You better be, you crybaby—"

Her knocking fell on silent air when the door opened, and Shikamaru peered at her grumpily through the opening. "Stop calling me that," he muttered grumpily. Temari glared at him, as if reminding him that even if he was her boss, she wouldn't take his smack-talk lying down. He rolled his eyes. "What do you want Temari?" he sighed tiredly. She pushed the door open, stomping into his apartment.

"I want to know why the hell I wasn't informed about your official position as the FBI liaison," she rambled, gritting her teeth as she whirled on him, her arms crossed. "As your secretary, I need to know all pertinent information pertaining to your job and—oh my god, what the hell happened to you?"

Shikamaru grimaced, holding his side that was clumsily wrapped with bandages. Blood was seeping from the shallow cut on his side, staining his fingers and dripping on the floor. "It's nothing," he told her amidst the other minor cuts and scraps littering his body. A fine film of dust lingered on his skin, browning the white wife beater he wore under his dress shirt. Shikamaru brushed past his secretary and to the couch, where a bowl of water and new bandages were placed on the coffee table.

"Nothing? You're dripping blood everywhere!" she exclaimed, rushing forward. Her purse was thrown behind the couch, her jacket quickly divested of as she rounded the table and knelt beside him.

"I'm fine—" he tried to reassure her, but she slapped his hands away.

"Shut it, crybaby," Temari hissed, grabbing a towel and pressing it gently on his wound. He hissed in pain, and she smirked. "Told you so." He grunted, but moved his hands so she had more space to work with. Temari took the towel away, pulling his tank top up. "Shirt off," she muttered absentmindedly, trying not to flush red when he wordlessly obeyed, totally at ease with showing her his body. Not that he had anything to hide, she told herself. Even working in a lawyer firm for a few years hadn't dulled his trained physique.

Temari ignored those thoughts as much as she could, when her nose was only inches away from his toned abdomen. Right now, her concern was the cut on his side, still seeping blood. She washed some of the dried blood off of his skin, grabbing the roll of bandages. "Why didn't you just go to a hospital?" she asked him, clearing her throat and trying not to fumble as she began to wrap his stomach. She wondered if he could see her red cheeks as her face almost pressed against his pectorals while she passed the roll from one hand to the other on the opposite side of his body where the injury was.

"Sakura would treat me there," he told her, sighing. "And she'd tell Ino, and then Ino would give me shit for hurting myself." He groaned, rolling his shoulder once she leant back, done with dressing his cut. "Damn. I forgot how powerful the recoil on a gun is."

Temari let him massage his own shoulders for a moment, watching him curiously. His gun was nowhere to be seen, but having a gun out in the open was never a good idea, so he probably put it somewhere safe. He wasn't a muscular guy, especially compared to his football friend, Chouji, but there was a definite masculinity to his body. He was lean, sleek. Like a spy, able to blend with darkness and hide in small spaces. At first glance, with his easy-going nature and relaxed body language, Shikamaru Nara seemed like anything _but_ a federal agent.

"Questions?" he said gruffly, sparking her out of her contemplation. He smirked, grabbing a loose t-shirt and carefully putting it on before sinking into his couch. Temari's lips tightened in annoyance at his confident, smug attitude. She rose to sit on the couch, her arms crossed again as she narrowed her eyes at him.

"Yes, actually," she said. He shrugged, waving a hand.

"Fire away."

She took a deep, silent breath. "Who was Asuma Sarutobi to you?"

He froze. His hands tightened, veins bulging from under his skin as his dark eyes narrowed. Temari startled a bit, not showing it from her poker face, but definitely feeling it in her gut as he rubbed his forehead. A tiredness came over him suddenly, a weight that had settled on his shoulders and stayed there.

"Asuma was my mentor," he answered softly, cushioning his chin on his hand, looking at the wall in front of him. "He was the senior supervisory agent in charge of me, Chouji and Ino. We… we were a team." There was a pause, and he stared into silence for a while. Temari had the impression he was remembering something from a long time ago, and she wondered for a moment what it was. But that was then, and this is now. And a Sabaku never regrets on the past, but looks to the future to set it right.

"What happened?" she asked slowly, thoughtfully. His eyes tightened.

"You read the report," he muttered, standing up. "You know what happened." He was tense now, strung up with energy, ready to burst. Temari followed him as he stomped into the kitchen.

"Not everything," Temari said. She paused for the slightest second, before reminding him, "It said that Chouji was fatally injured," he winced at the reminder. "So how is he not dead?"

"He did die," Shikamaru said gruffly, leaning against the counter, shoulders hunched. There was regret lingering on his face, a guilt so heavy that it made him slouch with all its weight. "He died three times in surgery. It was weeks before they took him out of ICU, and months before he was stable enough to leave the hospital." A choked laugh left his lips, and he ran a hand over his pinched face. "It took him a whole year in intensive physical therapy to be strong enough to function like a normal person."

Temari wavered on her feet, reaching for the counter to steady herself. Chouji? But she saw him just a few hours ago, happily munching on his potato chips and smiling in amusement at his friend's antics. There was such a serene air about him, an easy acceptance in his smile and if Temari hadn't known more, she would have thought he was just a civilian, like her. But he had died, and he had fought, and he had endured hardships that she couldn't even begin to understand.

"It said… that he was injured trying to rescue Ino," Temari said softly, watching as he flinched at the second reminder, his hands tightening on the edge of the counter. "Did she quit the FBI?" Shikamaru laughed harshly, shaking his head.

"No… Ino's not a quitter," he said hoarsely. "FBI let her go. Made her take a psych-eval. They said she needed time to cope, or something troublesome like that. When her dad saw the report, he flipped and banned her from coming back. She was furious." He grinned, chuckling and rubbing the back of his neck. "That's why we get her to profile for us sometimes; makes her feel like she never got kicked out."

"I see," Temari murmured, unsure of what else to say. It was hard to imagine Ino as a federal agent, with a serious demeanour and toting a gun on her belt. She was so cheery and bright, friendly to everyone she met no matter who they were and how well she knew them. That woman didn't seem like she could keep a secret at all.

"As for the liaison thing," Shikamaru sighed, pushing off the counter. "That's what Kurenai is for." She was the other secretary, but Temari only saw her every now and then because she was constantly out of errands for Shikamaru. Temari had never really bothered to ask why, but if Kurenai was an FBI agent as well, it made sense. She would have been out sending messages to other agents, acting as a connection to Shikamaru.

"Is she FBI too?" Temari asked, needing confirmation. Shikamaru laughed, a hollow bark that echoed in his large, spacious penthouse.

"She was," he murmured, rubbing his shoulder. "Until her husband died and she had to demote herself to something as paltry as my secretary." Temari could see the difficulty the conversation was having on him, and it was made apparent when he reached up into one of the cabinets for a short tumbler. Within seconds, a hefty dose of whiskey was poured into the tumbler and thrown back down his throat.

"Give me that," Temari hissed, snatching the now empty glass away from him, confiscating the bottle of alcohol as well. "You shouldn't drink when you're injured," she told him, putting the used glass in the sink and the whiskey bottle in the back corner of the kitchen counter. Shikamaru chuckled, watching her with his dark gaze.

"You sound like Ino," he said, making her heart skip. "Any chances you'd give me that glass back and let me pour you one? That's what Ino would end up doing anyways." His gaze had drifted off into his own personal oblivion, and she knew he was thinking back to the past, back to a time when things weren't peachy keen, but at least they were good. The memories made him smirk. "We used to load Chouji up with so much booze he'd fall asleep on my couch. And then Ino would complain that a lady wasn't supposed to walk home alone, so she'd crash in my extra room."

"Is that how these Friday things started?" Temari asked, and he nodded.

"Ino made us promise to meet at my place, like usual, every Friday. She was worried we'd grow apart." He snorted. "As if that troublesome woman would ever let her personal punching bags run away." His annoyance was feigned, and Temari could see it in the light that shone in his eyes. It told her that even if Ino hadn't put so much effort into retaining her friendship with Shikamaru and Chouji, he'd be the one to do it for her instead.

"You guys seem pretty close," she commented almost off-handedly, but watched closely for Shikamaru's reaction. He smirked a little, a fondness to his gaze that transported her to that very faithful, very damning afternoon when she had met Ino for the first time.

"Yeah," he sighed, "we've known each other since we were babies." The news made Temari blink in slight shock. She realized they were close-knit, but she didn't realize their history went that far back. Their parent must have had to be mutual friends in order for them to know each other at such a young stage in their life.

"You grew up together," she stated matter-of-factly. The admission made another smile crack across Shikamaru's face, a larger one.

"We did everything together," he said, amusement colouring his tone. "Even if we didn't want to, we were forced into each other's company. Almost every aspect of our lives, we shared together. Even if…" his eyes softened here, and a soft smile graced his lips. "Even if we weren't exactly next door to each other."

Temari's forehead creased in confusion. "What do you mean?" she asked, but he didn't seem to hear her. "Shikamaru?"

He jolted out of his minor trance, shaking his head. "It's nothing," Shikamaru assured the older woman. He stepped forward, and Temari froze as his arm reached over her, bringing his body tantalizingly close to hers. She felt shivers ripple under her skin, felt the higher temperature of his body as his shirt brushed against hers. She struggled to maintain her cool façade, staring unabashedly up at him as his fingers closed around the tumbler in the sink behind her. She hoped he would step away quickly, unsure of how cool she could be when he was so near. But her prayers weren't answered when his gaze locked with hers, and he paused.

They stayed that way for a long while, staring at each other with impenetrable walls locked over their eyes, determined not to be the first to slip. But Temari could already feel her walls crumbling, caving under the strain of keeping her feelings locked up so tightly for so long. She didn't want to look away either, because that also meant failure, that also meant a shameful admittance of her emotions. A Sabaku was not ruled by their emotions.

But she was also just a woman.

"Temari…?" Shikamaru asked slowly, quietly, carefully. Her muscles tensed beneath the scrutiny, the curiosity in his questing eyes that made her lips tighten and her hands shake. She did not answer him, only met his dark eyes with her turquoise ones. And she prayed. She prayed that she would hold on long enough, prayed that her walls would stand tall enough to hide her secret. She prayed for his curiosity to go away, prayed that he was merciful enough to let her keep her secret, to understand that this was something he didn't need to know. She prayed for something, anything—

A knock echoed through the penthouse.

"Shikamaru?"

He looked up, distracted by the newcomer. Temari breathed a soft sigh of relief as he left the kitchen, going back into the open space of his living room. She allowed herself a moment to catch her breath, to marvel at the close call. She had been so close to giving in, so close to breaking.

"Oh, there you are," the voice commented, relieved. "Man, don't leave your door open like that. I'm your protection detail, dude, and if something happened to you, Uchiha would tan my hide."

_That voice…_

Temari didn't notice it before, too grateful for the distraction, but now it was seeping into her brain, triggering memories. She knew that voice. She had only heard it twice before, but the easy rhythm of it was unmistakable. Temari could even see it; the roguish grin that she knew was spread over his lips. And her feet couldn't walk fast enough into the living room to see him with her own eyes.

"Sorry man—,"

What was that saying again?

"—my secretary barged in here and forgot to close the door."

The third time's a charm?

"This is Temari, my secretary. Temari, this is Supervisory Special Agent Kiba Inuzuka."


	14. Interlude Seven

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**HI MY LOVELY READERS! 8D**

**So I know I've been neglecting Chouji, and I hope this interlude kind of makes up for it.**

**I've always had difficulty writing Chouji... I can never get his character down right. So if he seems OOC, I apologize.**

**By the way: OMG. I NEED A MOMENT. THIS INTERLUDE IS NOT IN TEMARI'S POV. O.O**

**I think this fanfic is becoming more epic than I planned it to be. Sigh.**

**Just curiously (and maybe because I like making my fans happeh :3),**

**WHICH NARUTO CHARACTER WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE NEXT?**

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**My Boss The Genius**

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**INTERLUDE SEVEN**

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Chouji waved as his parents exited through the automatic sliding doors of the hospital, heading for their car. They had been delayed at the airport coming back from the Carribean on their anniversary, and Ino had scolded them viciously when she saw them enter her hospital room. Her apparent check-in to the hospital was much less important than their special anniversary trip that they had spontaneously decided to take. Ino could be so weird sometimes, he mused.

He turned back, taking the elevator back to his friend's room, finding her entertaining herself by folding paper cranes. It was one of her side hobbies, trying to make one thousand paper cranes. She never had time to fold them though, first because of her tenacious school schedule, then her time-consuming FBI occupation, and finally her explosion into flower arrangement and floral wedding design.

"How many are you up to now?" he asked her, forgoing his potato chips to take a seat by her bedside. She shrugged, ever the perfectionist as she checked and re-checked the corners to make sure it was folded perfectly in half.

"Six hundred and seventy-three, including this one," she muttered. Her fingers were quick and precise as she finished it off, smiling brightly at the red paper crane. It was placed in the box resting on her legs, amongst other brightly-coloured paper cranes.

"You're close," he commented. She shrugged again, reaching for a purple piece of origami paper.

"Not close enough."

The two of them sat in silence, Chouji contenting himself with watching her fold the paper four ways, running her nail along the creases to make the lines sharper. He wondered what she would wish for once she finished a thousand cranes.

"Are you hungry?" she asked him, and he shook his head. Ino fondly rolled her eyes. "Chouji, if you're hungry you should go eat something. I know I tell you not to eat too much all the time but—"

"I'm fine, really," he said, cutting her off. "I just want to sit here with you." _I just want to make sure you're really alive._

Her eyes softened, and he knew that she understood his underlying meaning. She reached out, ruffling his hair.

"Ino!" he exclaimed, jerking away. The florist laughed, grinning cheekily at him, but stopped messing up his hair and went back to her crane folding. She hummed a tune as she did, bobbing her head to the beat. She was trying to distract herself, Chouji thought, from worrying about Shikamaru. He had called already and reassured them he was alive and he was home, but the two of them knew that Shikamaru was probably injured. Run-in's with Hidan were too difficult to survive without a few lacerations. And Ino was probably killing herself imagining what kind of injuries he was sporting, because the genius was stupid enough to not mention his injuries.

"He's fine, Ino," Chouji found himself saying, trying to reassure her. Her hands shook a bit as she continued folding, her face pinching up.

"But _how_ fine?" she asked. "Is it just little scratches and cuts? Did he get a black eye? Or shot in the shoulder like me? You know him, Chouji! You know that he's not going to take care of himself because he's a stupid idiot who would avoid hospitals if nothing else but to stop Sakura from telling me and me yelling at him and lecturing him and nagging him—"

"Ino," he cut in gently, seeing her starting to hyperventilate. "If it was really serious, he would have come in."

"I know," Ino sniffled, her eyes tearing up. "I know, Chouji. But I'm so scared. What if it's worse the next time he fights Hidan? I don't want him to have to come to a hospital, Cho-kun. I can't… after what happened to you and Asuma I can't…" She broke off into gasps, covering her mouth and trying to stop the inevitable tears. He knew how severely his brush with death terrified her, not only because she had reverted to her childhood pet name for him, but also because of the weeks after his stabilization. The coddling almost made him lose his mind.

Ino cried silently, the gasps stopping. There were just tears, silent trails that she could not stop. Most people would imagine that Ino was loud when she cried. Her face would be red, and she would yell and scream and take great, big, heaving gasps. But most people never got to see Ino cry because she was naturally such an optimistic person. Those who did, though, knew different. She was loud when she was happy, yet quiet when she was sad. Chouji thought it was fitting. It all balanced out.

She shivered as she cried, and Chouji felt a heavy weight in his chest as he watched the tears disappear under her hands. When people cried, others usually tried to comfort them, tried to tell them everything was okay, everything would be fine. And maybe that was okay for other people, but for Ino it was different.

Chouji opened his arms, and his blonde-haired childhood friend fell into them, burying her face in his neck, wrapping herself in his warmth and kindness. He simply sat with her, waiting long minutes for the shuddering of her body to lessen, waited until it went away completely. He knew she stopped crying at one point, but she did not back away. That was fine with him, because this was how it always was. This was how it was supposed to be. He would not pretend to know the exact specifics of her complicated, often conflicted friendship-relationship with Shikamaru. He was just confused as anyone else was about it. But he knew that Ino was his dearly loved, kind-of-scary older sister, and he was her always-there teddy bear.


	15. Part Eight

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**Kind of an anti-climatic chapter, maybe, yes?**

**Apologies for the wait, folks. I didn't really know where this story was going. **

**I actually still don't really know where this story is going...**

**Eh. I'll figure it out. In the mean time:**

**ENJOY! :)**

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**My Boss The Genius**

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**PART EIGHT**

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Uchiha Sasuke cared little for the social grace needed to handle what seemed like a delicate situation. That may be because he didn't really have any sort of ability or skill pertaining to handling these types of scenarios, but that was okay. Shikamaru was the negotiator, the one with the silver tongue (i.e., the manipulator); he and Naruto were just there to point and shoot.

That being said, Sasuke did not at all care about the awkward vibe he got once entering the Nara's apartment. The female was a small blip on his radar, unrecognizable but still monitored in case she turned out to be some psychotic fangirl. The only ones he cared to address were the Nara and the lapdog.

"Your post was outside, mutt," Sasuke said drolly as he breezed into the penthouse, his gaze on Shikamaru but his words directed towards Kiba. The agent's eyes narrowed and he crossed his arms but made no other sign of moving. Naruto followed in after Sasuke, no visible sign of injury on him and toting his usual bright grin. Sasuke had his hand bandaged, but otherwise looked fine. "What the hell are you doing in here?" he demanded to know, and Kiba shrugged.

"Just checking up on him," Kiba said. "I saw the door open and went inside to make sure everything was okay." Sasuke's brow arched in mild surprise, and he turned to Shikamaru with that expression. The Nara was nonchalant about his idiotic mistake in his own security, even yawning and scratching the back of his neck to showcase his utter lack of concern. This was why he hated geniuses. They all thought they were invincible or something.

"You wanna die, Nara?" Sasuke asked him, glaring now. He had been assigned by the higher-ups to protect this stupid genius with his full arsenal, because of course the bureau couldn't stomach losing one of their prized Naras'. Personally, Sasuke hoped the guy dropped off the face of the earth. Damn lawyer was getting on his last nerve.

"Yeah Shikamaru it's dangerous leaving your door wide open like that. You know, for a genius you can be pretty stupid," Naruto piped in, using Sasuke as an elbow rest, which got him a nice bruise in the chest where his partner jabbed him two seconds later. Shikamaru simply shrugged and yawned again, leaving Temari to blink somewhat stupidly from the side.

"But that-," she started to say, trying to tell them that was her fault only to be cut off when Shikamaru's voice overpowered hers.

"Reminds me," he said, looking over at her (which may have made her heart skip a beat but it's not like she'd ever tell anyone that), "I need a detail on Temari too." Too? That implied that he already set protection for other people, but it wasn't as if she cared much about that at the moment. Because a Sabaku does not need to be protected; people need to be protected from a Sabaku.

Sasuke looked over at her, and really looked at her this time. Her hands clenched into fists when he gave her an uninterested once-over and then turned to speak again to Shikamaru, as if she wasn't even in the room or something. "Why do I need to expend more men to protect her? Isn't she just your secretary or something?"

_Just_ his secretary? Tall, dark, and suicidal has effectively found the means for ending his existence.

"Protect me?" she scoffed, catching the chauvinist's attention, "Your men would need to keep up with me first." Shikamaru grinned lopsidedly at her retort. She supposed it amused him to see someone else on the receiving end of her ire when it was usually directed at him. The only thing the grin did to her was make her heart skip a beat. Uchiha Sasuke simply scowled at it – and her.

"Temari got in Hidan's way when he tried to shoot Ino," Shikamaru informed him, switching suddenly into a steady and serious tone. "Not many people have the guts to stand up to him; he'll want to know who she is. If he establishes contact with her, we might have a chance to bring him down." Sasuke titled his head slightly to the side, interested in the idea. Temari just started as she looked at Shikamaru incredulously.

"You want to use me as _bait_?" she snarled, her voice rising. As if! A Sabaku was not a chess piece for some idiot to move around as he pleased! Love or her life or not, Shikamaru had no right to make her decisions for her. And that was exactly what she was about to tell him (barr the 'love of her life' part) until he turned to face her. He seemed... conflicted.

"We don't want you to _be_ bait, Temari," he said, "but regardless of whether or not we get a guy to tail you, it will still happen. You're new to him; he'll want to study you. And eventually, he'll try to talk to you." A shiver crept up her spine at the thought of meeting that maniac again. There had been a glee in his eyes when he fired that first shot, pleased when blood spurt from Ino's shoulder and delighting in the agony that twisted her face. Temari had been glad that he had not looked at her then, because she wasn't sure if she would freeze up or lash out.

"Fine," she said curtly, crossing her arms. "But don't expect me to hide behind some muscle-headed idiot." Shikamaru smirked in amusement, having anticipated that response from his fierce and entirely-capable-of-handling-herself secretary. Sasuke just grunted in acknowledgement, but Temari wasn't sure he really cared what she wanted. Naruto grinned and laughed.

"I like you," he told her. "Why didn't you ever join the bureau?" Temari just shrugged, unsure how she was supposed to respond to that.

"Who the hell am I supposed to give her, then?" Sasuke growled, gnashing his teeth. Most of the guys who worked for him were men. Shikamaru sighed tiredly, plopping onto his couch and grabbing a smoke. He lit it slowly, as if purposely trying to antagonize the pretty boy standing in front of him. He took a long drag, also exhaling slowly until he saw the faintest twitch of a brow. Smirking, Shikamaru leaned back into his couch.

"Tenten," he said. "Hidan's never seen her before, so she can go undercover." Sasuke scowled.

"Hyuuga will never go for that," he reminded the genius, who simply shrugged.

"She's got him wrapped around her finger better than you think," Shikamaru smirked. "And if he still resists, I'll talk to him." That was code for: despite the fact that you're head of my security detail, I still outrank you. Do what I say.

Sasuke tried not to grind his teeth. "Understood," he growled darkly, before turning on his heel and stalking out the door. Naruto followed with a lighter bounce in his step, looking over his shoulder to grin cheekily and wave. Shikamaru saluted him with his cigarette, but otherwise no one else moved. Kiba had remained silent as he stood vigilantly at the window, and his attack dog Akamaru was sitting attentively at the door.

"So I take it you two know each other?" Shikamaru asked after it was silent for about a minute, growing weary of the inconspicuous glances the two of them kept throwing each other. Kiba scratched the back of his head, shifting from foot to foot while Temari quickly looked away, her neck growing hot. Shikamaru would have rolled his eyes at the awkwardness, if his cell phone had not started to trill from the coffee table. Swiftly, he answered with a bored, "Yeah?"

"_SHIKAMARU!_"

Temari and Kiba looked over sharply at the phone, the shriek so loud that it echoed through the room. Akamaru even looked up, his teeth bared because he thought that it was a threat. He calmed when he saw Shikamaru's bored stare, settling back into a sitting position.

"Yes Ino?" the lazy genius asked. Her voice quieted down, and Temari could not hear Ino's next words, but still turned away, not entirely confident that she could stomach seeing the range of emotions playing across her boss's face. Just listening to him speak to Ino was hurting her; that dull, familiar ache settling in her chest. But despite all the hurt, Temari still caught herself looking back at him.

"I'm fine, troublesome woman. It was just a scratch."

Pause.

"Ino, I'm not bleeding everywhere. It was just a scratch."

Pause. Eye roll.

"A scratch is a scratch. I'd tell you if my guts were spilling onto the floor."

Murmuring. A heavy sigh.

"I just said I wasn't—ugh, what a drag. Give Chouji the phone."

Pause.

"No, I am not trying to avoid talking to you. Just give Chouji the phone."

Longer pause. Groan.

"No that's not why—wait, how do you even know about that?"

Short pause. Eye twitch.

"Troublesome blonde idiot."

Pause.

"Ino, you were just hospitalized, of course I'm going to assign you a bodyguard."

Pause. A grin.

"No, it's not because I think you're weak."

Pause.

"You know why."

There was another pause, but this one was longer than the rest. A soft smile spread slowly over his lips during the silence, and he leaned into the phone, as if that little action brought him closer to the person on the other line. Contentment washed over his face, his eyes slipping closed as peace settled over him for the first time that night since Temari had come over. A part of Temari marvelled at the power this woman held over her genius boss, but the other part curled into a ball and cried at the injustice.

She could have had anyone. With her pretty face and the shiny locks of her platinum blonde hair, Ino could pick and choose from a breed of perfect men. But Temari did not have that luxury, with her eye for practicality and her aura of indifference. Men did not flock to her like she was Aphrodite personified. Men didn't even _look_ at her. And the one man who she thought might actually want to be with her, who made her think she could be beautiful, had already been ensnared by the true personification of a Greek goddess.

The pause was broken when Shikamaru chuckled quietly, the sound catching Temari's attention. She turned back to him, hearing, "Whatever you say, troublesome woman. I gotta go; get some rest." They exchanged goodbyes, short in length but agonizingly long for Temari to endure. Her patience wore thin, the apathy she tried so hard to keep in place breaking faster and faster the longer she stayed in his apartment. So quickly, Temari began to gather her things.

"Leaving already?" Shikamaru asked her, already hanging up. She nodded curtly, shouldering the strap and briefly glancing at him. The apathy wore away faster when she looked at him, when she saw what she couldn't have even though it was right in front of her.

"I've overstayed my welcome," she said, "and I have some files to go over before tomorrow." She started for the door, resolute and almost desperate to leave. But then Shikamaru called out to her.

"Wait."

Being as weak as she was, Temari turned.

"Yes?" Her face was carefully blank, fingers clenching around her purse strap. The emotion had to go somewhere, after all. Shikamaru jerked his head to Kiba.

"Take him with you." Her eyes widened, and she opened her mouth to protest. "I don't want you walking home alone," he said sternly. "And it's just for tonight." Indignant, but understanding his reasons, Temari snapped her jaw closed, but acquiesced and turned again to leave. She didn't wait for roguish FBI agent or his guard dog, simply sweeping past the door towards the elevator. She didn't wait for them to enter either, the sliding doors closing on their shocked faces. Temari couldn't find it in herself to feel guilty then, alone in the mirrored elevator, the liftman having gone home for the day. It was hard to feel anything else except the lone tear that trickled down her cheek.


	16. Interlude Eight

**My Boss The Genius**

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**INTERLUDE EIGHT**

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Her pace was brisk, like the cold night air that seeped under her jacket. Beside her, Kiba's stride was lazy but he was taller and his steps longer, so he easily kept up with her. A large dog trotted next to him, its tongue lolled out. Every now and then Kiba would reach down to pat the dog's head, and it would look up at him with a smile on its face.

Temari glanced over at the dog, grimacing a bit at what happened when the elevator got down to the lobby. The dog had taken one look at her, and suddenly walked to her side. She tried to ignore it, but it had simply followed her out of the apartment complex. It puzzled her at first, why this dog was following her, but the answer soon became clear once Kiba had jogged up to her and patted its head. "Good job Akamaru!" he said to it. She had simply glowered at the mutt, her lips pursing but refusing to acknowledge her babysitters.

"So..." Kiba said, glancing at her from the corner of his eyes. "Temari, is it?" he asked. She glowered at him too. He held his hands up defensively. "Hey, just clarifying. Don't wanna accidentally get your name wrong so you have an excuse to beat me up, y'know?" He grinned, trying to lighten the mood, but she simply turned up nose up at him and kept walking. Kiba sighed, scratching the back of his head when she didn't reply. It was pretty obvious she was angry, but he had absolutely no idea why.

Well, no that was a lie. She was probably angry that he was being ordered to walk her home when she seemed against the idea of any type of protection. But tough luck, because even if Shikamaru didn't tell him to, he would have walked her home anyways. It was late, almost midnight, and his moral code rebelled at the idea of letting a woman walk home alone, no matter how independent she was or whether she was willing to comply.

Kiba snuck another glance at her, letting his gaze rest for a prolonged second, seeing the hard slant of her eyebrows. Her jacket was slung over her forearm, and her purse haphazardly hanging off her shoulder. She wore a simply gray skirt and white blouse and normally Kiba adored a woman in a suit, but she just looked so... dowdy. Even now, the Inuzuka had no idea what drew her to him in that coffee shop. It wasn't like she was drop-dead gorgeous either; of all the women he knew in his life, Ino was probably the only one allowed that kind of compliment. (I mean c'mon, Sakura has a big forehead, and Hinata was cute, but she definitely wasn't gorgeous.)

For others she didn't stand out in the crowd, but why had she stood out to him?

"So you work with Shikamaru?"

Kiba looked over. Temari wasn't looking at him, still stubbornly fixed on the street in front of her. But she had asked a question, and he took that as a good sign.

"Well, not really," he chuckled, and Akamaru barked with him. "We were trainees for the bureau together. All of us were stuck in the same class." He grinned widely as he remembered those days. The five of them – Naruto, Shikamaru, Chouji, Akamaru and himself – were such shit-disturbers. They cut class all the time, hung around the weight room or out at the shooting range and _always_ got in trouble. The only reason they didn't get kicked out was because all of them had connections inside the bureau.

"We?" Temari questioned, her eyes wrinkling in thought.

"Yeah, a bunch of us. Let's see... Naruto and Sasuke, Sakura—the doctor in charge of Ino—oh and Ino of course, with Chouji and Shikamaru too. Shino and Hinata, plus her cousin Neji and Tenten and Lee—"

"I don't know those people," she cut in. But she then continued on to ask, "So you're friends with them? Shikamaru, Ino and Chouji?" Kiba looked over at her, curious as to why she was asking. But at the same time, he sort of already knew. The look in her eyes when they were at Shikamaru's; he had seen it on Hinata's face a dozen times. It irritated him, making him wonder why no one ever looked at him like that.

"Uhh, more Shikamaru and Chouji, but yeah I know Ino." She was a hell of a firecracker. He was glad he wasn't put on her team; that girl would have destroyed his sensitive eardrums. And Kiba would have told Temari that too, had she not lapsed into silence. He watched her think for a moment, the contemplative sheen of her teal blue eyes both mesmerizing and beautiful.

"What was she like?" Temari asked, and Kiba was taken off guard by her question for a moment.

"Who, Ino?" he asked to clarify, and she nodded. Kiba shrugged. "She was annoying." He laughed. "Her and Sakura would have huge shouting matches over Sasuke in the middle of the classroom before the lecture started. And if it wasn't about Sasuke, it was about how one of them would kick the other's ass." He shook his head at the memories, marvelled at the fact that they were so carefree once in their lives. This job... it could suck out all the joys in life. It was that thought that made him frown.

"Come to think of it," he muttered to himself, although Temari could hear him, "She's grown up since then." He sighed. Temari figured he was reminiscing about the time she was kidnapped by that Hidan thug. She wasn't a therapist, but it was almost a given that something like that did a number on the psyche of a person.

"Don't we all?" she asked him, and he smirked and shrugged.

"I don't know," he said, "Naruto seems to be doing a pretty good job of staying a kid."

He laughed at his joke, but didn't seem to mind that Temari didn't. The small smile she was trying to hide was good enough for him.

They reached the lobby of her apartment, and Kiba scratched his head. "Guess this is where I leave you," he told her. Temari nodded, thankful that he wouldn't persist to her front door to make sure she made it in alive. Kiba grinned widely at her, holding his hand out. "We never really got to formally introduce ourselves. I'm Kiba Inuzuka."

Temari stared at his hand for a moment, and then grasped it tightly. "Temari no Sabaku." They shook once, and then let go. "Thank you for walking me back," she said. "I know you probably didn't want to." Kiba blinked in surprise, and then made a noise of disagreement.

"No way," he chuckled. "A man never complains when he has to walk a beautiful woman home." And here, his roguish grin finally appeared.


	17. Part Nine

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**... Hi? :D**

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**My Boss The Genius**

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**PART NINE**

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Having a security detail was possibly the most annoying thing Temari had ever had to endure. Ever. Including that day she was thirteen and Kankuro thought her tampons were ammunition for his nerf guns. (Although to be fair, the embarrassment far outweighed any and all annoyance that was had for her brother at the time.) No, this was infinitely more annoying than anything she'd ever had to tolerate, and considering her rather short temper and shorter tolerance rate for idiots (read: Kankuro), it was taking a miracle for Temari not to skewer her bodyguard over a firepit.

She twitched after a minute had gone by of trying to blissfully, and ignorantly, review case files on her computer. "Would you stop hovering? This is classified and under a client confidentiality clause." Temari said, determinedly keeping her focus on her computer, but she could feel the presence of her bodyguard, one Special Agent Tenten (last name omitted), peering curiously at the screen. The young agent (were they all younger than Temari? What kind of standards did the bureau have?) seemed content to stay where she was.

"No can do," she murmured quietly in Temari's ear, making the other woman bristle. Sabaku's liked their personal space very much. "You could be communicating discreetly with Hidan through email." Temari balked at the plain, brown-haired girl who always seemed to wear a cheery, slightly mischievous grin on her face. It was one of the many things that annoyed her about her bodyguard.

"I thought I was being _protected_, not suspected!" Temari said, turning a flushed red in anger. Tenten laughed and clapped her on the shoulder.

"You are being protected," she replied, straightening up. "However the Red Clouds have a way of blackmailing people into doing things. It's unlikely that Hidan will try anything sneaky like that, he's been profiled to prefer more aggressive approaches, but one can never be too careful." Tenten seemed finished with antagonizing Temari further, and walked back to her little corner of the room, plopping down behind her desk and continuing to fold origami shuriken, for lack of anything better to do.

Special Agent Tenten had been assigned to Temari's security detail exactly one month and eighteen days ago. Her cover was an internship at the law firm where Temari was employed, and she had been assigned as Temari's assistant. They had a small desk brought in for her, where she would spend her days with her feet propped up, or balancing a pen between her nose and her upper lip. When she wasn't goofing off, she was bothering Temari. When she wasn't bothering Temari, she was speaking to Shikamaru, or Kurenai, the latter who seemed to be around the office much more often now.

Kurenai Yuhi... was a mystery, Temari decided all at once when she had the rare chances of seeing the other secretary in the office. Tenten had been completely comfortable around her, speaking to her politely and with respect, but nevertheless speaking casually enough to inquire about her three-year old son. Temari didn't know she had a son, but she did know about the dead husband from what she remembered at Shikamaru's apartment the other day. Perhaps her child was why she had taken a day job, 'demoting herself to something as paltry as my assistant', as Shikamaru had phrased it. To be honest, Temari didn't much like Kurenai, but that might have been her bias from earlier days, when the older woman had warned her off of Shikamaru. During that time, Temari had thought her daft. Now, she could see the wisdom in those words. If only she had known about Ino sooner...

The doors to the office banged open and, speak of the devil, Yamanaka Ino came prancing through, her hair flying behind her like a silk tassel, done up in a braided ponytail. She was smiling hugely, and headed straight for Tenten. "It's fitting time!" she crowed excitedly. Tenten, stopping in her origami folding, looked confusedly at the blonde. Temari mirrored her expression. Fitting for what?

"Ino," Tenten began slowly, just as the doors to Shikamaru's office opened (he always seemed to know instinctively when Ino arrived. Temari liked to think it was because she was so loud whilst entering the office), "where's your detail?" Ino beamed brightly, as if she was happy that the other woman asked, and took every small glee in answering,

"I lost them."

"Lost them?" All heards turned to Shikamaru, who had spoken. There was a stern glare on his face, and he crossed his arms. Ino grinned and nodded again, smugly flipping her braid behind her shoulder. Temari wondered faintly how long it took her to grow her hair to such ridiculous lengths. (Then she wondered if growing her own hair would make any kind of difference to him.)

"Yup." Ino sounded rather proud at her answer.

"As in, lost them you can't find them, or lost them you got rid of them?" Shikamaru narrowed his eyes sternly at her, and Ino pretended to be lost in thought, a finger to her cheek, her eyes swirled up to the ceiling. She hummed for added effect. Then, a devilish smile spread over her glossed lips.

"Lost them as in got rid of them."

Tenten laughed, Shikamaru groaned, and Temari's mouth dropped. She what?!

"Ino!" Shikamaru growled, advancing towards her. The pretty blonde simply laughed, skipping backwards, out of his reach.

"Well don't assign such a greenhorn to me if you know I can run circles around them!" she protested, stopping to put her hands on her hips. "It's like you're not even trying." She grinned at the exasperated expression that Shikamaru wore, and 'aww'ed. "My poor baby Shika," she said, wrapping her arms around his waist, nuzzling into his chest. "Your little girl is growing up, you know, she can take care of herself."

Shikamaru sighed, his hand automatically coming up to pressed against her lower back, dropping his head onto the top of hers, looking thoroughly disgruntled. "Stop talking to me like that. It's weird," he mumbled to her, and she muffled her laugh in his chest. He scowled. "Besides, the guard isn't supposed to watch out for the person he's protecting, troublesome woman." But Ino only grinned mischievously at him. She pushed at his chest playfully.

"Then pick a better guard," she challenged him, sticking out her tongue. With that said, she turned back to Tenten, beaming. "Now, fitting time you!" She went over to the female agent, tugging at her arm. "Hinata's meeting us at the store in half an hour, so we need to leave now."

"Fitting for what?" Shikamaru asked, mirroring the question Temari was asking in her own head. Ino turned around with a sigh, rolling her eyes at the genius lawyer.

"For the bridesmaids dresses, duh! I know you boys only have to slap on a tuxedo and look fine, but us girls have a million different fittings to go through for our dresses. And Tenten is the Maid of Honour!" Here, she glared at Shikamaru. "Assigning her to be Temari's detail has put a _huge_ damper on the bachelorette party. Do you know how time-consuming that is to plan?" Shikamaru shrugged.

"Probably about as time-consuming as a bachelor party?" He guessed. and Ino rolled her eyes.

"A couple of six-packs and a football game does _not_ count as a bachelor party," she informed him dryly. He waved off her reply.

"How the hell would I know? Sasuke's the Best Man, not me." Shikamaru paused here, thinking, then narrowed his eyes again at Ino. "Why do you care anyways? Bachelor parties usually have strippers, and I know you'd kill Sasuke if he hired strippers." Ino scoffed, tossing her hair over her shoulder.

"Puh-lease. This is Sasuke we're talking about. He won't hire strippers."

"He won't," Tenten affirmed, nodding her head almost seriously. "The last time Naruto dragged him to a strip bar, he lost all his clothes." Ino burst into giggles at the mention of that incident (because those two idiots had lots of 'incidents'). "Besides, I heard that Sasuke isn't planning Naruto's bachelor party. I think he's making Kiba do it." Ino gasped in horror at that.

"Dog breath?!" Ino shrieked, and Temari was mutely offended at the insult. Dog breath? "But he'll hire strippers for sure!" Ino promptly began to panic, and fishing her phone out and rapidly clicking away. "I have to tell Sakura to convince Sasuke to plan the party. I don't even want to think about what Kiba's going to do!" She stormed out of the office, her face set in a deep scowl. Tenten and Temari looked over at Shikamaru, who was rolling his eyes. He looked at his watch, and Temari could tell he was counting down silently in his head, by the way his eyes fixed on the ticking of his watch.

Once he hit the last number, Shikamaru looked up towards the doors of the office, and lo and behold, Ino came prancing back in, still clicking furiously at her phone. "Tenten! Let's go!" She ordered, and Tenten sighed and saluted her.

"Yes ma'am. Come on Temari." She stood up, grabbing her blazer off the back of the chair. Temari straightened in her seat, confused.

"Me? But-,"

"Go with them," Shikamaru interrupted, jerking his head at the two women. Temari looked at him, almost surprised. But it was still working hours, she said to herself. She had case files to screen and clients to call. And Kurenai Yuhi wasn't in the office either, leaving Shikamaru with a pile of work to do that he'd probably never get through by the end of the day. But Shikamaru simply smirked (sending a flutter through her heart), and motioned her towards Ino and Tenten.

"Don't worry about this lazy butt," Ino piped up, still not stopping her rapid texting spree. "He needs to put effort into his work every now and then anyways." Shikamaru scowled at that, and he walked over to her, flicking her in the forehead in retaliation. Interrupted from her texting spree, Ino glared at him. "Hey!"

"Don't run away from your detail," he told her firmly, "or I'll replace him with Lee."

Ino gasped (again) in horror. "You wouldn't!" she hissed. "Not Bushybrows!" Behind her Tenten snickered. Shikamaru smirked in reply, and Ino deflated, looking equally pouty and terrified. "Fine," she mumbled. At this point, Temari had gathered her coat and her briefcase, and was standing a polite distance from them, not wishing to intrude. The three of them were already friends, by the looks of it, and Temari was just an outsider. Including herself in their little circle would be... pretentious of her. Not that Temari particularly cared about how people perceived her, but at the same time it was just... awkward.

"Alright then, time to go. We're already late!" Tenten said, already headed out the door. "Come on Temari!" She motioned to the Sabaku, and Temari quickly walked towards her. She didn't want to turn and look at Ino, who was not moving yet, still standing in front of Shikamaru. So she stared at Tenten's back, gripping her briefcase a little tighter when the doors to the office closed behind her, leaving Shikamaru and Ino to a world where only they existed.

When she looked back at the large, heavy oaken doors that she was so used to seeing, Temari thought bitterly that that world used to be a place where only she and Shikamaru existed. And then she wondered if it had ever existed at all.

After the elevator doors closed silently before her, Temari decided:

Yes, it existed. But only in her heart.

(When Ino finally joined them a few minutes later in the lobby, Tenten had given her this _look_, and Ino had rolled her eyes and swept past her friend, digging into her purse for her lip gloss. Temari didn't want to think about why she needed it.)

(She did anyways.)


	18. Interlude Nine

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**So I'm curious. After reading this chapter, are you for or against KibaTema?**

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**My Boss The Genius**

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**INTERLUDE NINE**

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Kiba sighed in complete boredom, rolling his shoulders. Beside him, his partner Shino sat quietly in the passenger seat, the high collar of his black trench coat covering the lower half of his face. A set of black, circular sunglasses rested on the bridge of his nose, and if he was spotted on the street, there was no doubt in anyone's mind that he was either a gangster, or a Man in Black.

Neither was true, of course. Shino worked for the FBI, just as he (Kiba) did. Shino was just more... creative, about his appearance than the average special agent.

Behind the two of them, in the backseat, Akamaru whined softly. He was lying down on the seat, ignoring the open window near his head. Normally he'd have his head stuck out the window, panting doggishly as cars whizzed by, but Akamaru could always sense Kiba's moods, and often empathized with them. And since Kiba was currently in a state of complete boredom, Akamaru was as well.

The trio of agents (because yes, Akamaru counted as an agent), were off-duty. Kurenai, their old supervisory special agent, was assigned as Shikamaru's protection detail for the day, leaving Kiba to finish some paperwork at the office before punching out. Shino hadn't been assigned to be any kind of security detail, leaving him to the normal routine of day-to-day operations. But, as per his usual efficiency, he had finished all his duties early and joined his teammate for the rest of the day.

And this, of course, lead to their current dilemma: what the hell were they going to do?

Normally Kiba would suggest going to a bar, but it was too early to get drunk. Plus, they were both a bit overdressed because of work. He supposed they could just laze around at the apartment and watch movies or something, but Kiba was a little restless today. He wanted to go out somewhere and do something with himself. It felt like a waste of time to just watch a movie. What would they watch anyways? A cop flick? Everything they did in those cop dramas, _he_ did every day of his life.

"Kiba," Shino intoned, turning his head slightly towards him, "your phone is ringing."

"Huh?" Kiba looked down to the pocket of his blazer, finally feeling the slight buzzing of his phone. "Oh." When he checked his cell, a memo flashed on the display.

_Memo: Today is the first fitting for Hinata's wedding dress._

Kiba blinked at his screen, wondering when he had set that memo. He hadn't realized how quickly time passed. He must have set that memo months ago, when he and Shino and Akamaru had accompanied Hinata on the day she picked her wedding dress. Sakura, Tenten and Ino were there as well, of course, and they provided most of the advice. But it was him and Shino whom Hinata turned to for approval.

The memory made his heart pang. He hadn't wanted to be the guy to help her pick her wedding dress. He wanted to be the one to see her in it at the altar. But it was hard to go up against what Hinata already felt for Naruto, and even harder to go up against Naruto when the idiot had realized his own feelings. Faintly, Kiba wondered how he had gotten through the last couple of years, watching the two of them together. He wondered how he would survive the rest of his and their years, watching their children grow, watching them grow old together.

He wondered when he got this pathetic, waiting for a woman he knew wasn't going to be his. It was probably why he gravitated so much towards that woman, Temari, he realized. She reminded him of himself, perhaps more than that she continues to reflect his own face in the mirror. They were both filled with this craving emotion, clawing at this wall that they knew couldn't be scratched. Kiba had stopped clawing a long time ago. Now he was simply resting against it, feeling its solidity. He didn't know, though, if Temari was still clawing at it, or if she was like him, just waiting for the wall to collapse around him.

He wondered if she knew it was never going to collapse.

"Is anything wrong?" Shino asked him after he had stared for too long at his display. Kiba shook his head to clear his thoughts, and grinned at Shino, deleting the little message on his phone.

"Nah," he said, "it's nothing."


	19. Part Ten

**My Boss The Genius**

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**PART TEN**

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They were all crazy.

"What did you say, Pig? Say it again, I dare you!"

"_Fore_head! I said Sasuke is only with you so he can look at his beautiful reflection on your _Fore_head!"

"PiiiIIIG!"

With a raging battle cry, Sakura (whom Temari had known previously as that nice doctor with the pink hair) tackled a taunting Ino, who was making childish faces at the other woman. They both hit the ground, screaming bloody murder and hissing like jilted cats. Behind them was Hinata, the shy to-be-bride quietly wringing her hands, her long bluish-black hair falling like a curtain around her face.

"S-Sakura, Ino, please don't fight," she said hesitantly, hoping they could hear her above their hissy fit. Tenten, languishing on the fancy chair beside her, watched the fight with bright eyes, shouting encouragement when Sakura managed to grapple Ino's neck.

"Man, I should record this and sell it online. I'd make a killing!" Tenten exclaimed, and Hinata squeaked with mortification. The fight didn't look like it would end anytime soon, especially since Tenten didn't want it to end, and Hinata barely looked like she could swat a fly. Thankfully, though, Sakura's cell phone started to trill. Apparently the ringtone was a special one, because Sakura and Ino's heads immediately snapped up when it rang.

"It's mine!" Ino shouted, diving for Sakura's bag. But Sakura snagged Ino's ankle, dragging her away from it.

"It's _my_ cell phone!" the roseate hissed, pouncing for her bag. She successfully grabbed her bag and the phone, quickly answering with a sickly saccharine voice, "Sasuke-kun?" But she was thwarted from hearing the answer, because Ino quickly swiped the phone, running to hide behind Temari as she spoke into it with an even sicklier saccharine voice.

"Sasuke-kuuun~, did you forget my phone number? This is Forehead girl's phone!" Temari yelped as Ino grabbed her shoulders, steering her left and right as a shield when Sakura came rushing up, her eyes narrowed in retribution. "Sakura? Oh why would you want to talk to her when _I'm_ here? You know big guy, if you come over tonight you can show me just how _big_ you are—"

"_INO-PIG!_"

Ino laughed and tossed the cell phone over Temari's shoulder. It smacked Sakura on the forehead before she caught it with both her hands, quickly answering, "Sasuke-kun? I'm so sorry!" as Ino snickered and sauntered past her friend.

"Come on Temari, let's leave the unromantic couple to be unromantic together," she said, winking at Temari (who was extremely confused and extremely unsettled at this point). Sakura, hearing her, turned another of her glares at Ino.

"We so are romantic!" she protested.

"Your anniversary present was a pile of medical textbooks."

"They were for school and I needed them!"

"Still unromantic!"

Sakura huffed and decided it was better to ignore Ino, promptly turning away to have a semi-private conversation with Sasuke. Temari, who had followed Ino without much arguing, found herself standing with Hinata, Tenten, and Ino near the large full-length mirrors. The gown consultant had gone off to fetch the wedding dress and the bridesmaids gowns, leaving the five women to entertain themselves for a few minutes.

"Hinata, isn't Hanabi one of your bridesmaids too?" Tenten asked. Hinata, poking her two index fingers together in what struck Temari has a useless but strangely endearing gesture, nodded.

"Yes, but Hanabi-chan is busy today, so father said he will make arrangements to have her fitting at the mansion." Mansion? Temari thought. Was Naruto marrying into money? But Temari wasn't able to finish this train of thought when the door opened and a young man rushed in.

"Hey old hag!" he shouted, pointing his finger accusingly at Ino, "Don't run away from me!"

"Shut up brat!" Ino snarled, pulling his cheeks, "Don't blame me for your incompetence!" Tenten started laughing hysterically, pointing at the young man with the spiky brown hair and green goggles slung around his neck.

"_Konohamaru_'s your bodyguard?" she said between her bouts of laughter. "No wonder you ran away!" Temari looked at the young man, puzzled. He was part of the FBI? He looked like he just graduated high school! Not to mention he didn't have the aura of an agent at all. He was all scrawny legs and awkward tallness, and the blush that was spreading across his face was no doubt from embarrassment. Ino was still pinching his cheeks too, leaving red marks.

"I didn't run away," Ino snapped, pouting. "I was educating him about the finer points of protecting his assignment." Tenten grinned.

"And you were running away." The two women then began their own 'discussion', which namely consisted of Ino protesting at high decibels of sound and Tenten purposefully riling her up by denying all protests. Hinata, ever the peacemaker, tried to intervene and mediate, telling the two they should calm down. Sakura, having been unable to ignore all the hubbub, had to cut her woefully one-sided romantic conversation with Sasuke to start yelling at Ino, then prompting Ino to yell back and consequently argue with two people. Konohamaru, who managed to find his brains in all this commotion, decided it would be best to step as far away from the fight as possible. And Temari, in the middle of it all, started reconsidering her oath to make friends.

Maybe.

The door opened again, emitting more people into this war-torn room. Temari almost wanted to groan, and hoped it was the gown consultant with their dresses. Unfortunately, the person entering the room was devoid of heavy skirts in hand, and he was male. Wonderful. More testosterone for Ino to yell at. But when he fully came into view, Temari's heart sputtered to a stop for just a moment. Because she was sure this male would yell right back.

"... the hell?"

Hinata brightened up. "Kiba-kun! Shino-kun!" she exclaimed. Kiba eyed them all skeptically for a moment, before apparently deciding it was none of his business and he didn't really want to know. The yelling that he heard from outside the room was due to the overall loudness of females in general. Nothing to be concerned about. So he and Shino entered the room, not even acknowledging Konohamaru who had taken refuge behind them.

"We came to see your first fitting," Shino told her matter-of-factly. "I hope you'd allow me the privilege of inspecting your dress before you wear it. I want to make sure the seamstress took in the waist exactly half an inch." Hinata giggled at his fixation on the minutiae, but Kiba sighed.

"Dude, this is what I mean about nit-picking." Shino said something in reply, and Hinata added her own voice to the conversation, but Temari couldn't hear them at all. She was looking closely at Kiba, who was still wearing a normal suit and tie. Akamaru was absent from his side, and Temari guessed it was probably because this establishment didn't allow pets. She watched him with a curiosity she never displayed before, remembering the first time they met.

"Oh!" Her light exclamation caught the attention of everyone in the room, because Temari had not said anything up until this point. Trying not to blush at all the attention, Temari quickly reached into her bag and grabbed a five from her wallet, thrusting it into Kiba's stomach. "Here! I owe you from that time." He looked at her in confusion, grabbing the five with gentler hands.

"What?" This time, Temari couldn't help the faint blush that lit up under her eyes.

"From the coffee shop," she said simply. The understanding dawned on him a few seconds later, and Temari could see its progression in his eyes. But he didn't accept the money; instead he took her hand and handed it back to her, smirking. His hand was warm and callused, and the calluses rubbing across her smoother hand made her shiver imperceptibly. She looked up at him, and saw that he was smirking at her, that familiar, roguish glint in his eyes.

"It was my treat. Don't worry about it." His hand fell, and Temari missed the warmth, but that was a silly thought so she buried it away deep in her head. Ino was lurking at the side, not close enough to intrude but close enough to inspect the two of them closely. She had a strange look in her eyes, one that was part hope and part deviousness. She opened her mouth to say something, but a sudden shrill alarm cut her off.

"What's going on?" Sakura asked, looking around. Kiba, Shino, and Konohamaru's hands strayed to their guns, resting lightly on them. Quickly, Kiba took charge, shuffling the unarmed girls away from the door.

"I don't know, but it can't be good," he replied. Hinata started digging around in her purse and, to Temari's surprise, fished out a gun that she quickly loaded and armed. Her surprise at timid little Hinata's gun, though, was nothing compared to when she looked over at Tenten. The special agent assigned to her security detail was slinging an M16 rifle over her shoulder and loading a 19mm in her hands. Her belt, which previously just looked like a normal leather wide-strap accessory with a large buckle, was now carrying several tear-gas bombs.

"Ms. Hyuuga!" someone called, and the gown consultant entered the room with her manager at her heels. "Ms. Hyuuga, there's beena security breach. You and your friends need to leave immediately, we have a back exit you can go through." She stopped in her tracks when she saw Hinata confidently holding a handgun, her eyes wide with disbelief. Temari was sure she looked like that too, so she sympathized with the consultant. "G-g-g—"

"Guns, say it properly," Tenten cut in, twirling her 19mm in her hand. The manager, a bit wary of all these people toting guns, stepped forward and her used body to half-shield her employee. Kiba reached in his blazer and pulled out his ID, letting the manager look at it.

"Don't worry," he told her. "We're from the FBI. What's going on?" The manager relaxed when she realized they weren't going to hurt her or her employee, and quickly divulged the details. One of their security guards was found shot at one of the entrances to the building. Another one was gunned down only five minutes later, while they were trying to coordinate with everyone in the building. An evacuation was immediately called for, and so they sounded the alarms.

"We're hoping they'll get scared at the alarms and leave," she said, but Shino shook his head.

"If they shot two people, whatever they're after must be important. They won't leave." The manager grew even more stressed and worried at this, but pinched her lips together to control herself. Shino looked over at Kiba, who was frowning.

"Alright, ma'am, please lead Agent Aburame to the security room. I need you to set us up with a form of communications. Do you have walkie talkies?" he asked. She shook her head.

"No, but we have wireless headsets linked to a frequency to be able to talk one another in every corner of the building." Kiba grinned at that.

"Even better." The manager, her employee, and Shino then left. Kiba then turned to Tenten, and Temari was surprised at how easily he took control of the situation. Perhaps more than that, she was surprised at how easily everyone else allowed him to delegate orders. "Tenten, I need you to stay here and protect everyone. I'm going to take Konohamaru and see if we can find the breach." This particular order didn't seem to satisfy everyone though, and Hinata stepped up.

"Kiba-kun, let us help," she said.

"No, it's too dangerous to leave only Tenten here. We have three unarmed civilians to protect, I need you to help her protect them." At this, Ino stepped up, obviously rankled at the idea that she needed _anyone_ to protect her.

"Can I please remind you that I was a former FBI agent? Just give me a gun and let me protect myself," Ino said haughtily.

"Yeah Kiba, I might have quit the Bureau three years ago but I'm still a better shot than the Pig over here," Sakura said. She didn't flinch at all when Ino's fist automatically reared back to punch her arm. In fact, Temari was sure the both of them didn't even realize it happened. Kiba shook his head again though, growling low under his breath.

"Note the word 'civilians.' You're not authorized to carry a gun," he said. But Ino and Sakura didn't even bat an eyelid.

"Hinata?" Ino asked sweetly, even though her facial expression remained the same; defiant. Hinata didn't move a muscle, still staring at the open door, but she replied all the same. (Just not to Ino.)

"Be careful you don't drop your guns, Tenten," she said softly. Tenten, a wicked smile on her face, shrugged her M16 rifle off her shoulder, and dropped the 19mm in her hand.

"Oops, I dropped my guns!" she exclaimed dramatically, stepping away from them. Another 19mm was already in her hand by the time Ino swooped up the dropped handgun and Sakura grabbed the rifle. Temari had no idea where it came from.

"Hey look Ino!" Sakura exclaimed with false joy. "Let's use these guns to protect ourselves from the imminent danger!"

"Good idea Sakura!"

(Yeah, it was official, Temari thought. They were clinically insane.)

Kiba was trying very hard not to make his face look like he was having an aneurysm. (And just so you know, he was failing.)

"Alright, fine," he bit out. He knew these girls were trouble when you put them in a room together. "Me and Ino will take point. Temari and Tenten will go next. Konohamaru, Sakura, I want you to watch our backs. Our first priority is to secure the safety of the principle." (The principle being Temari.) Kiba turned and looked at Temari. He smiled at her reassuringly. "Don't worry; we'll get you to a safe place soon." Temari wanted to tell him she didn't need reassurance and she wasn't worried, but he had already turned away to begin taking point. She didn't really feel up to arguing anyways, considering Tenten started herding her to walk behind Kiba and she could smell the husky scent of his jacket... or maybe it was him?

Temari had the strangest urge to grab the back of his jacket, but forced herself not to. But Kiba seemed to sense her feelings, and turned his head to look at her over his shoulder. He gave her the same roguish grin he always gave her. (But when did it start making her heart pause for a second?) "Stay close, okay?" he said, and she nodded. She was the only one who was unarmed, and made a resolution not to be a burden.

Although it turned out that wasn't necessary anyways. They successfully evacuated the building with no incidents, and when the authorities made a sweep of the place minutes later, they couldn't find any unknowns in the vicinity. For many people, it was utterly confusing. But Temari found it utterly unsettling. Who shot those security guards? She didn't want to know, but somehow found she already did.


	20. Interlude Ten

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**This is slowly turning into a Kiba/Temari fic. I'm unsure how to feel how this.**

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**My Boss The Genius**

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**INTERLUDE TEN**

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"Do you think it was them?"

Temari looked over at Shikamaru, who was surrounded by FBI agents, talking about the break-in. Kiba and Shino were there, Hinata standing next to her fiancé, Naruto, who was holding her hand gently. Included in the little impromptu group huddle was Tenten, Ino, and Sakura, and by default, Temari because she was herded into the group with them.

"There's no evidence," Shikamaru said, frowning in thought.

"I think it's pretty obvious though," Tenten said. "We had a high-profile agent in there, not to mention the two ladies who managed to survive Hidan's attack at Cocoa Bean. If this was any old burglar, what's the point of hitting a bridal store? All transactions are done through credit card. There isn't any cash to steal here." Temari admitted, painfully, that Tenten was right. What was the point of that break-in? Shikamaru knew she was right too and his frown grew deeper.

"But why didn't he engage then?" Sakura asked. "SWAT Team couldn't find him when they swept the place. You really think Hidan would just run away once the alarms started?" Shikamaru shook his head.

"No, he wouldn't," he sighed. "And I doubt he walked in there without knowing exactly where you were. So why..."

Ino, who had been looking at everyone during the team brainstorm, finally stepped forward. "Alright," she said authoritatively. "I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm dead exhausted. Let's reconvene in the morning to figure this out, okay?" She went over to Shikamaru, grabbing him gently by the arm. He allowed himself to be pulled away, his eyes flickering over each of his agents. In his eyes was a single command: do as she says.

None of them argued.

Naruto wrapped his arm around Hinata, leading her away to her car parked in front of the store. Their heads leaned close, and he was whispering something to her. Sakura took Sasuke by the hand, and he obediently followed as she tugged him along to his car. There were no words spoken between the two of them, just a quiet presence that settled. Tenten turned away when her phone rang, speaking laughingly to the person on the other line, though Temari heard the underlying exhaustion in her voice. Shino and Kiba talked briefly, before the former left alone. Then, Kiba turned to her.

"Ready to go?" he asked. Temari was confused, looking over at Tenten who had hung up and waved her fingers cheekily at Temari. Kiba chuckled. "Tenten's boyfriend is just about ready to acupuncture a guy to death if Tenten doesn't calm him down soon. She asked me to take you home while she manages damage control." Temari nodded, her head ducking down, wondering why her cheeks flushed at the idea.

Kiba led them both to his car. He told her offhandedly that Shino was getting a ride with Tenten, because his place was on the way where she was going. Temari nodded at this, not sure why she cared so much. When she got inside, she almost had a heart attack at Akamaru in the back seat, who grinned wolfishly at her.

The car started, and by then mostly everyone had left. Except for Shikamaru and Ino. Kiba made a quick stop by Shikamaru's car, rolling his window down.

"Hey dog-breath," Ino grinned, waving. Kiba snorted at her.

"Banshee. You guys aren't going home?" he asked, not noticing Temari who was not looking in their direction. She didn't want to look, because she didn't want to see how they were standing. Were they holding each other? Were they standing apart? Was Shikamaru looking at her? What was the expression he was staring at her with? There were so many questions, but Temari didn't want to answer any of them.

"We'll be out soon," Shikamaru said, his voice husky from the late hour of the night. "I just want to make sure the staff and the cops are okay before we head out." Kiba chortled.

"Every the workaholic, aren't you? I never would have guessed," Kiba said.

"And it's all thanks to me!" Ino exclaimed, sounding ridiculously proud of herself. Temari heard Shikamaru sigh and mutter, "Troublesome woman," before she finally gave into temptation and looked over Kiba's shoulder at them.

Ino was leaning on Shikamaru's shoulder, the left part of her body blocking the right part of his. Their hands and arms were hidden from sight, and Temari didn't want to think they were holding hands behind Ino's back, but she did anyways.

Kiba's car continued past them, and Temari resisted the temptation to look behind her. This time, she succeeded. She wondered if that was a good thing.

(Temari saw Kiba smile at her from the corner of her eye and decided, yeah, it was.)


End file.
